A nanofiber composite catalytic membrane for biodiesel production was prepared from phosphotungstic
acid (PWA)/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) via electrospinning on a substrate of non-woven fabric. The effects
on the nanofiber structure and catalytic performance by PVA concentration andPWAcontent were studied,
respectively. SEM images showed that the surface of PWA/PVA nanofibers was smooth and homogeneous
with an average fiber diameter of 157.2 nm when PVA concentration was 12 wt% and PWA content was
20 wt%. FTIR analysis indicated that there existed the interaction between PWA and PVA in the nanofibers.
DSC and TG analysis revealed that PWA/PVA nanofiber had a good thermal stability. The nanofiber membrane
had a higher activity and better site accessibility than that of commercially ion-exchange resin
(NKC-9) because both reaction rate constant (2.647 min1) and effectiveness factor (0.92 min1) of nanofiber
membrane were higher than that of NKC-9. The stability test of nanofiber membrane suggested that the
conversion could remain stable for 10 days in a continuous flow-through reactor for biodiesel production.