Uso do catalisador heterogêneo derivado da biomassa residual do caroço de açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) para obtenção de biodiesel

Abstract

Heterogeneous catalysis arises with the proposal to develop cleaner, safer and more economically viable processes to produce esters. Within this context, the production of heterogeneous catalysts of low cost and high catalytic activity is also encouraged. The reuse of biomass residues as raw material for the production of microporous carbons is already common. In this work, the Açaí pit (Euterpe oleracea Mart.), an Amazonian biomass residue from the processing of Açaí fruits, were carbonized at different temperatures 600 °C, 700 °C and 800 °C followed by biochar functionalization processes carried out by sulfonation with concentrated sulfuric acid at 200 °C for 4 h. The materials were characterized by determining the density of sulfonic groups, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersion X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS), N2 Adsorption-Desorption and X-ray Diffraction. of the material under the reaction conditions in the esterification reaction: molar ratio oleic acid/methanol 1:20, catalyst concentration 5%, temperature 120°C for 1.5 h. A conversion in methyl esters of 98% was obtained and keeping in the second reactional cycle conversion of 90% shows that the material presents promising results for obtaining heterogeneous sulfonated catalysts from the residual biomass of the Açaí seed, applied in the process of biodiesel production.