Biodiesel Production from Silkworm Pupae Oil Using Solid Base Catalyst

How to dispose large amounts of free fatty acids of the desilked silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) pupae oil in a suitable way have attracted considerable attention. The feasibility of biodiesel production from the desilked silkworm pupae oil using Na2O•SiO2•5H2O as a solid base catalyst was investigated, and the experimental conditions (i. e. molar ratio of methanol to oil, catalyst concentration, reaction time and reaction temperature) were studied. The experimental results indicated that Na2O•SiO2•5H2O possesses high catalytic activity towards the synthesis of biodiesel from the desilked silkworm pupae oil. The methyl esters conversion of up to 73 % for free fatty acids of the desilked silkworm pupae oil was achieved using the following reaction conditions: catalyst concentration 5 %, the molar ratio of methanol to oil 6:1, reaction temperature 70 °C, and retention time 8 h. Therefore, the desilked silkworm pupae oil is proved to be a new biodiesel source in a more sustainable way.