Research on the synthesis and performances of a new biodiesel, propylene glycol methyl ether palm oil monoester

In this paper, a new biodiesel, propylene glycol methyl ether palm oil monoester (PGMEPOM) was synthesized with propylene glycol methyl ether and palm oil as reagents and Na as catalyst. Under the optimum synthesis test conditions (molar ratio of propylene glycol methyl ether to palm oil was 10:1, mass content of Na to palm oil was 1.2%, reaction temperature was 90°C, and reaction duration was 30 min), the productive rate of transesterification reaction could reach up to about 91.3%. In addition, chemical structure of PGMEPOM was characterized by FTIR and 1H NMR analysis. And the performances of the biodiesel were studied in detailed.