Synthesis of Acetin as Bio-additives to Improve the Fluidity of Environmentally Friendly Biodiesel

¹ Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Department of Chemistry, 60111 Surabaya, Indonesia
² UIN Walisongo, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, 50185 Semarang, Indonesia
³ Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Department of Chemical Engineering, 60111 Surabaya, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: pburhan@its.ac.id

Abstract

Biodiesel is one of the renewable energy options considered capable of replacing fossil diesel due to its environmentally friendly nature and alignment with the concept of green energy. Biodiesel production is carried out through the esterification of fatty acids to produce biodiesel and glycerol by-products in large quantities. This glycerol by-product needs to be utilized to support zero-waste production principles and the circular economy. This study focuses on converting glycerol into acetins as bioadditives to enhance biodiesel performance. The synthesis was carried out by reacting glycerol with acetate derivatives in the presence of sulfuric acid (H2SO₄) and potassium carbonate (K₂CO₃) as catalysts. The highest conversion was 83.55% with H₂SO₄ at 78 °C and 82.23% with K₂CO₃ at 120 °C. The application of 1.5% acetins as a biodiesel additive successfully reduced the cloud point by up to 10.5 °C, lowered the pour point to —1 °C, and resulted in a CFPP of 7 °C. It can be concluded that the utilization of glycerol by-products as bio-additives not only improves biodiesel performance but also strengthens its role as a renewable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly energy source.