Soybean soapstock (SS) a by-product from the soybean processing food chain can serve as a viable feedstock for biodiesel production. This viability was attributed to its low costs and high conversion rates. Biodiesel from this feedstock required both esterification and transesterification reactions, using methanol and n-hexane as solvents. Determination of the component fatty acids was carried out using gas chromatography while functional groups were obtained using the FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) for both feedstock and biodiesel. The produced biodiesel had a higher percentage of unsaturated fatty acids when compared to its feedstock (soybean soapstock) with oleic acid (26.045%) and linolenic acid (22.344%) constituting the bulk of the unsaturated fatty acids. This conversion of saturated fatty acids into unsaturated fatty acids as confirmed in the GC analysis highlighted the effect of transesterification in biodiesel production. The effect of transesterification was further confirmed by the presence of cyclic ester compounds and carbonyl groups as observed in the FTIR analysis. Desirable fuel properties for the produced biodiesel were confirmed by comparing its physico-chemical properties with standard fuel properties. A high biodiesel yield of 96.8wt% and positive economic indices (38% ROI) obtained further validated soybean soapstock as a viable feedstock for biodiesel production.
| Published in | American Journal of Chemical Engineering (Volume 14, Issue 2) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ajche.20261402.13 |
| Page(s) | 45-53 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Biodiesel, Soybean Soapstock, Transesterification, N-hexane, Methanol
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APA Style
Mbah, C. G. (2026). Novel Soybean Soapstock Biodiesel Synthesis Through Esterification / Transesterification Reactions Using Methanol and N-hexane Solvents. American Journal of Chemical Engineering, 14(2), 45-53. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajche.20261402.13
ACS Style
Mbah, C. G. Novel Soybean Soapstock Biodiesel Synthesis Through Esterification / Transesterification Reactions Using Methanol and N-hexane Solvents. Am. J. Chem. Eng. 2026, 14(2), 45-53. doi: 10.11648/j.ajche.20261402.13
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ajche.20261402.13,
author = {Chinedu Gabriel Mbah},
title = {Novel Soybean Soapstock Biodiesel Synthesis Through Esterification / Transesterification Reactions Using Methanol and N-hexane Solvents},
journal = {American Journal of Chemical Engineering},
volume = {14},
number = {2},
pages = {45-53},
doi = {10.11648/j.ajche.20261402.13},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajche.20261402.13},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajche.20261402.13},
abstract = {Soybean soapstock (SS) a by-product from the soybean processing food chain can serve as a viable feedstock for biodiesel production. This viability was attributed to its low costs and high conversion rates. Biodiesel from this feedstock required both esterification and transesterification reactions, using methanol and n-hexane as solvents. Determination of the component fatty acids was carried out using gas chromatography while functional groups were obtained using the FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) for both feedstock and biodiesel. The produced biodiesel had a higher percentage of unsaturated fatty acids when compared to its feedstock (soybean soapstock) with oleic acid (26.045%) and linolenic acid (22.344%) constituting the bulk of the unsaturated fatty acids. This conversion of saturated fatty acids into unsaturated fatty acids as confirmed in the GC analysis highlighted the effect of transesterification in biodiesel production. The effect of transesterification was further confirmed by the presence of cyclic ester compounds and carbonyl groups as observed in the FTIR analysis. Desirable fuel properties for the produced biodiesel were confirmed by comparing its physico-chemical properties with standard fuel properties. A high biodiesel yield of 96.8wt% and positive economic indices (38% ROI) obtained further validated soybean soapstock as a viable feedstock for biodiesel production.},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Novel Soybean Soapstock Biodiesel Synthesis Through Esterification / Transesterification Reactions Using Methanol and N-hexane Solvents AU - Chinedu Gabriel Mbah Y1 - 2026/04/24 PY - 2026 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajche.20261402.13 DO - 10.11648/j.ajche.20261402.13 T2 - American Journal of Chemical Engineering JF - American Journal of Chemical Engineering JO - American Journal of Chemical Engineering SP - 45 EP - 53 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-8613 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajche.20261402.13 AB - Soybean soapstock (SS) a by-product from the soybean processing food chain can serve as a viable feedstock for biodiesel production. This viability was attributed to its low costs and high conversion rates. Biodiesel from this feedstock required both esterification and transesterification reactions, using methanol and n-hexane as solvents. Determination of the component fatty acids was carried out using gas chromatography while functional groups were obtained using the FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) for both feedstock and biodiesel. The produced biodiesel had a higher percentage of unsaturated fatty acids when compared to its feedstock (soybean soapstock) with oleic acid (26.045%) and linolenic acid (22.344%) constituting the bulk of the unsaturated fatty acids. This conversion of saturated fatty acids into unsaturated fatty acids as confirmed in the GC analysis highlighted the effect of transesterification in biodiesel production. The effect of transesterification was further confirmed by the presence of cyclic ester compounds and carbonyl groups as observed in the FTIR analysis. Desirable fuel properties for the produced biodiesel were confirmed by comparing its physico-chemical properties with standard fuel properties. A high biodiesel yield of 96.8wt% and positive economic indices (38% ROI) obtained further validated soybean soapstock as a viable feedstock for biodiesel production. VL - 14 IS - 2 ER -
Department of Chemical Engineering Technology, Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Nigeria
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