No abstract

Biodiesel is a biofuel obtained from vegetable oils via basic or acid catalysis. The catalysts can be homogeneous and heterogeneous, among them the pyridine complexes appear as alternative and with catalytic properties for several reactions. This work aimed at the synthesis of the Chlorobis(pyridine)iron(III) complex catalyst [Fe(Py)2Cl3] and evaluation of its catalytic activity in the process of transesterification of babassu oil by methyl route. The catalyst was characterized FTIR and MEV. The esters were analyzed by gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (CG-DIC), FTIR and kinematic viscosity measurement. The results show that the catalyst was effective in obtaining 70.7% methyl esters and a kinematic viscosity measurement of 4.14mm 2 s-1 .