In this study, continuous transesterification of refined palm oil by using radiation-induced kenaf denoted as anion exchange kenaf catalyst in a packed-bed reactor was developed. The application of full factorial design and response surface methodology (RSM) based on the central composite design (CCD) was used to design the process and analyzed the effect of reactor operating variables such as packed bed height, the molar ratio of oil to ethanol and volumetric flow rate on the production of fatty acid ethyl ester (FAEE). The statistical analysis results showed that all three operating parameters affect the reaction efficiency significantly. The optimum conditions were determined to be 9.81 cm packed bed height, a molar ratio at 1:50, and a volumetric flow rate of 0.38 mL min⁻¹. Three tests were carried out to verify the optimum combination of process parameters. The predicted and actual values of molar conversion fatty acid ethyl ester (FAEE) molar conversion were 97.29% and 96.87%, respectively. The reusability of kenaf fiber-based catalysts is discussed with a specially highlighted on fiber dissolution, leaching, and fouling. Nevertheless, the impurities absorption properties of anion exchange kenaf catalyst towards biodiesel production could eventually simplify the biodiesel purification steps and cost. In sum, anion exchange kenaf catalyst shows the potential commercial applications to transesterification of FAEE in a packed-bed reactor.

中文翻译：

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填充床反应器中辐射诱导红麻催化剂催化生物柴油合成的响应表面方法（RSM）优化。

在这项研究中，开发了通过在填充床反应器中使用辐射诱导的洋麻作为阴离子交换洋麻催化剂，对精制棕榈油进行连续酯交换的方法。应用基于中心复合设计（CCD）的全因子设计和响应面方法（RSM）来设计工艺，并分析了反应堆运行变量（如填充床高度，油与乙醇的摩尔比和体积流量对脂肪酸乙酯（FAEE）生产的影响。统计分析结果表明，所有三个操作参数均显着影响反应效率。最佳条件确定为9.81 cm填充床高度，1：50的摩尔比和0.38 mL min ^-1的体积流量。进行了三个测试，以验证工艺参数的最佳组合。摩尔转化率脂肪酸乙酯（FAEE）的摩尔转化率的预测值和实际值分别为97.29％和96.87％。讨论了洋麻纤维基催化剂的可重用性，并特别强调了纤维的溶解，浸出和结垢。然而，阴离子交换洋麻催化剂对生物柴油生产的杂质吸收性能最终可以简化生物柴油的纯化步骤和成本。总之，阴离子交换洋麻催化剂显示出在填充床反应器中对FAEE酯交换反应的潜在商业应用。