Hydrothermal synthesis of Lewis acid Y2O3 cubes and flowers for the removal of phospholipids from soybean oil

Abstract

Biofuels have attracted significant research attention in recent years due to various energy shortages. However, the presence of phospholipid impurities in biofuels prevents their use in diesel engines. In our previous study we developed Lewis-acid ZrO₂ materials for the adsorption of phospholipids in oil solutions. In this work, for the first time, we describe the development of strong Lewis-acid Y₂O₃ novel structures, such as Y₂O₃ cubes and Y₂O₃ flowers for the phospholipid removal in soybean oil solution. This is the first report for the discussion of Y₂O₃ cubes and flowers. The relevant growth mechanism for the cubes and flowers was also discussed in this study. The as-prepared Y₂O₃ flowers exhibit better performance in phospholipid removal than Y₂O₃ cubes due to the larger specific surface area of the Y₂O₃ flowers. This work also provides a feasible method for using Y₂O₃ novel structures to remove phospholipids from plant oils that is suitable for biofuel applications.