Transesterification of Vegetable Oils in Pulsed-Corona Plasma Discharge Process

The biodiesel production characteristics in a pulsed-corona plasma reactor has been investigated through parametric tests. Transesterification of rapeseed oil together with camelina oil was done with the change of such variables as voltage of power, molar ratio, KOH catalyst and temperature. The energetic electrons emitted from pulsed-corona plasma has contributed to the enhancement of yield on rapeseed oil in short time (15 min). The higher yield on camelina oil was observed in 5 min. The optimal parameters were shown as the voltage of 23 kV, the molar ratio of 5/1, the content of KOH catalyst of 0.6 wt% and the temperature of 28 ℃ under the rotating rate of spark gap of 900 rpm.