20.04.2016
Biodiesel production by Microwaves
An article in Energy & Fuels of the American Chemical Society describes the transesterification of used cooking oil to biodiesel using a microwave. The researchers around Aharon Gedanken developed a solid phase catalyst from strontium oxide on a silica bed (SrO@SiO2). By mixing with the catalyst and microwave radiation, the used cooking oil can be converted into biodiesel almost completely. The advantage of this procedure is a high conversion rate of 99.4 % in 10 seconds.