TiO2-supported chromium oxide was prepared and characterized. Its high absorption of a broad range of light and lack of photocatalytic activity suggest that it is suitable as a photothermal exchange material. Therefore, alginate microcapsules loaded with CaO and TiO2-supported chromium oxide were prepared and used to catalyze the methanolysis of rapeseed oil to fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). A FAME yield of 70% was obtained with the microcapsule system under irradiation with a full range of wavelengths (3.6 W) after 6 h at 303 K. In addition, the irradiation power affected the temperature inside the microcapsules and the FAME yields. Thus, the final FAME yield in the microcapsule system was determined by the temperature inside the microcapsule, which was controlled by the power of the light irradiation absorbed by the TiO2-supported chromium oxide. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.