Type of Catalyst

Advantages

Disadvantages

Homogeneous Base Catalyst

Very fast reaction rate 4000 time faster than acid-catalyzed transesterification

Sensitive to FFA content in the oil Soap will form if FFA content in the oil is more than 2 wt%

Reaction can occur at mild reaction conditions and less energy intensive

Too much soap formation will decrease the biodiesel yield and cause problem during product purification especially generating huge amount of wastewater

Heterogeneous Base Catalyst

Relatively faster reaction rate than acid-catalyzed transesterification

Leaching of catalyst active sites may result to product contamination

Reaction can occur at mild reaction conditions and less energy intensive

Sensitive to FFA content in the oil Soap will form if FFA content in the oil is more than 2 wt%

Easy separation of catalyst from product High possibility to reuse and regenerate the catalyst Low solubility in methanol and can be synthesized from cheap sources (Zabeti et al., 2009)

Too much soap formation will decrease the biodiesel yield and cause problem during product purification especially generating huge amount of wastewater

Homogeneous Acid Catalyst

More efficient when the amount of FFA in the oil exceeds 1 wt% (Zhang et al., 2003)

Slower reaction rate Requirement of higher reaction temperature, high molar ratio of alcohol to oil

More economical because its

Serious environmental and

a one-step process

corrosion related problems (Jacobson et al., 2008)

Heterogeneous Acid Catalyst

Insensitive to FFA and water content in the oil Preferred method if low-grade oil used Esterification and transesterification occur simultaneously

Complicated catalyst synthesis producers lead to higher cost

Normally, high reaction temperature, high alcohol to oil molar ratio and long reaction time are required

Easy separation of catalyst from product High possibility to reuse and regenerate the catalyst

Energy intensive Leaching of catalyst active sites may result in product contamination

Enzyme

Preferred method if low-grade oil is used Transesterification can be carried out at low reaction temperature, even lower than homogeneous base catalyst

Very slow reaction rate, even slower than acidcatalyzed transesterification

High cost Sensitive to alcohol, typically methanol that can deactivate the enzyme

Only simple purification step is required