Biodiesel has become increasingly important over the past decade due to the dwindling of the planet's petroleum reserves. In addition, using biodiesel as a fuel is not only more economically favorable, but also provides a greater energy return and therefore higher efficiency. The transesterification of canola oil by using various heterogeneous catalysts was scrutinized in this study. After conducting preliminary tests by utilizing a condenser/refluxer apparatus, it was determined that highly ordered mesoporous silicate catalyst, namely SBA-15 impregnated with cesium provided maximum biodiesel yield. The effects of different methanol to oil ratios (20: 1 and 40: 1), different reaction times (3-24 h), amount of catalyst (100-200 mg), and reaction temperatures (65-135 degrees C) were studied to achieve the highest conversion. Increasing the reaction temperature by utilizing a pressurized batch stirred-tank reactor was the most important factor contributing to the yield of biodiesel (1.05% compared to 25.35%). Moreover, the ratio of methanol to oil also seemed to be a limiting variable as experimental trials employing ratios of 40: 1 consistently resulted in high quality biodiesel. The optimized condition was found to be within the pressurized reactor (therefore allowing a temperature of 135 degrees C) at a high methanol to oil ratio (40: 1), high reaction time (5 h) and low amount of catalyst (100 mg) providing biodiesel yield of 25.35%. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.