Abstract: Methyl esterification preparation of biodiesel from tea seed oil was investigated. According to single factor investigation, a mathematical model with transesterification ratio as a response to reaction temperature, catalyst dosage, reaction time, mole ratio of methanol to oil was established using Box-Behnken central composite experimental design. This was followed by response surface analysis. It was found that the optimal process conditions for methyl esterification of tea seed oil were as follows: reaction temperature 58℃, catalyst dosage（mass percent to oil）1.05%, reaction time 66min, mole ratio of methanol to oil 9.7∶1, and that the resultant transesterification ratio was 98.79%. Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy and GC/MS were used to analyze biodiesel, and the quality indexes of biodiesel in the experiment reached the national biodiesel standards of Chinese.

Key words: tea seed oil, methyl esterification, biodiesel, response surface