Title: Optimised biodiesel production from waste vegetable cooking oil catalysed by green synthesised calcium oxide nanoparticles

Authors: Sufian Rasheed; Ramzan Begum; Amirullah; Arsalan Rasheed; Amir Ali Khan; Akmal Zubair

Addresses: HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry, ICCBS, University of Karachi, Karachi – 75270, Sindh, Pakistan ' Department of Chemistry, Government Post Graduate College Karak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan ' Department of Chemistry, Hazara University Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan ' SST (Bio-Chemistry), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Elementary and Secondary Education Department, Pakistan ' Department of Chemistry, Hazara University Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan ' Department of Chemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, Pakistan

Abstract: The current study proposes a simple, cost-effective and environmentally friendly technique for producing biodiesel via transesterification of waste vegetable cooking oil using green synthesised CaO nanoparticles, as a catalyst. The produced CaO nanoparticles were structurally and morphologically analysed using several characterisation techniques. The qualitative analysis of produced biodiesel was carried out by using different analytical techniques recommended by the American Society for Testing Materials, such as the acid number test, methanol test, and copper strip corrosion test, and FTIR spectroscopy. The optimised parameters for maximum biodiesel yield (96%) were determined to be a 1% catalyst loading, 1:8 oil to ethanol ratio, a temperature of 50°C, and reaction duration of 90 minutes. The prepared CaO nanocatalyst has a high surface area to volume ratio, small average size of 32.4 nm and high crystalline structure which gave rise to their potent catalytic properties.

Keywords: biofuel synthesis; recycling; triglyceride; methyl ester; transesterification.

DOI: 10.1504/IJRET.2022.126464

International Journal of Renewable Energy Technology, 2022 Vol.13 No.4, pp.377 - 395

Received: 02 Dec 2021
Accepted: 10 Mar 2022
Published online: 26 Oct 2022 *

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