摘要 |
An object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing an alkyl ester of a fatty acid from a fat or oil, of which main component is a triglyceride, and an alkyl alcohol under mild conditions in a high reaction efficiency, and the alkyl ester of a fatty acid can be effectively utilized as a diesel fuel oil, an industrial raw material or the like, the method further being capable of utilizing on an industrial scale, in which post-treatment steps for removing a catalyst component can be simplified or omitted. For this purpose, the method for producing an alkyl ester of a fatty acid of this invention includes the step of carrying out a transesterification reaction between a fat or oil and an alcohol in the presence of a base catalyst containing calcium oxide, characterized in that the method includes the step of contacting the base catalyst with the alcohol, to carry out an activation treatment thereof in advance of the reaction. |