TY - JOUR AB - Molybdenum impregnated calcium oxide (Mo/CaO) was prepared via a wet impregnation method by varying Mo loading (1-5 wt%) and calcination temperature (300-800 degrees C). Powder X-ray diffraction study of the Mo/CaO catalyst supported the homogeneous doping of Mo in CaO as no peak corresponding to molybdenum oxide was obtained. The prepared catalyst was successfully employed for the ethanolysis of high free fatty acid (up to 18 wt%) containing vegetable oils with ethanol to give >99% fatty acid ethyl ester (FAEE) yield under the optimal reaction conditions of ethanol to oil molar ratio of 12 : 1, catalyst concentration of 5 wt% (catalyst/oil) and reaction temperature of 65 degrees C. The catalyst was recovered and reused five times without significant loss in its activity. The Koros-Nowak criterion test demonstrated that catalytic activity was independent from the mass transport phenomenon. Under optimized reaction conditions the activation energy (E-a) for Mo/CaO catalyzed ethanolysis was found to be 66.02 kJ mol(-1). Thermodynamic activation parameters of the reactions were evaluated based on activation complex theory (ACT) and obtained values of Delta G double dagger = 43.62 kJ mol(-1), Delta H double dagger = 64.10 kJ mol(-1) and Delta S double dagger = -60.58 J mol (-1) K-1 supported an unspontaneous, endothermic and associative mechanism of reaction. AD - Thapar Univ, Sch Chem & Biochem, Patiala 147004, Punjab, India AN - WOS:000349434300003 AU - Kaur, N. AU - Ali, A. DO - 10.1039/c4ra14786c IS - 18 J2 - Rsc Adv KW - heterogeneous base catalyst LA - English N1 - Cb2cm PY - 2015 SN - 2046-2069 SP - 13285-13295 ST - Biodiesel production via ethanolysis of jatropha oil using molybdenum impregnated calcium oxide as solid catalyst T2 - Rsc Advances TI - Biodiesel production via ethanolysis of jatropha oil using molybdenum impregnated calcium oxide as solid catalyst UR - ://WOS:000349434300003 VL - 5 ID - 11390 ER -