The solid base catalyst KOH/ZrO2was prepared by impregnation method

in which KOH was loaded onto a new support

ZrO2

and followed by drying and high temperature calcinations.The catalyst was characterized by XRD

TGA-DSC and FT-IR respectively.The results show that KOH has been loaded on ZrO2 successfully

which can be proved by the appearance of coordinated hydroxyls on the surface of ZrO2.However

the crystal structure of KOH/ZrO2 does not change significantly when compared with the structure of carrier.The preparation conditions for catalysts of different loading amount were determined via transesterification reaction.The optimal preparation conditions are as follows:loading amount of KOH 20%

calcination temperature 600℃

calcination time 2 h.The solid base catalyst KOH/ZrO2 was applied in catalyzing the transesterification of soybean oil with methanol

and the maximum yield of biodiesel can be higher than 90%.The influence of the reaction variables on the conversion was also investigated

and the optimal reaction conditions are as follows:reaction temperature 75℃

oil/methanol molar ratio 9:1

reaction time 3 h

catalyst dosage 4.0%(mass).