four alkali catalysts in the same molar concentration. The
results showed that the sodium catalysts are more active than the
potassium ones, and in turn, the methoxides are more active than
the hydroxides [18]. From a large scale industrial production point
of view, biodiesel manufacturing by homogeneously catalyzed
transesterification reactionshows the disadvantages of high production
costs, as the process involves washing and purification steps,
and it is quite difficult to remove K and/or Na traces remaining in
the biodiesel product [19]. Despite these drawbacks, currently, in
large scale facilities, the sodium methoxide is exclusively used as
catalyst, given its high activity at moderate reaction conditions.