Conversion of free fatty acids in low grade crude palm oil to methyl esters for biodiesel production using chromosulfuric acid

In this study low grade crude palm oil (LGCPO) was proposed as a potential agro-industrial raw material for biodiesel production. Chromosulfuric acid was used as a new homogenous catalyst in the pre-treatment process to reduce the free fatty acids (FFA) content in LGCPO to the acceptable level for producing biodiesel via alkaline transesterification reaction. The results of esterification reaction showed that the FFA of LGCPO was reduced from 7.0 % to less than 1% using optimum operating conditions. The yield of the final product after the alkaline transesterification was 85% with 0.14 % FFA content and ester content 97.5% (mol mol(-1)) which meets the international standard quality specifications for biodiesel.