Biomass derived calcium oxide catalyst for biodiesel production from waste cooking oil

• Main Author: So, Si Jie Ting
• Format: Final Year Project / Dissertation / Thesis
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: TP Chemical technology
• Online Access: http://eprints.utar.edu.my/5365/2/1602331_FYP.pdf; http://eprints.utar.edu.my/5365/

Recently, the discovery of biomass-derived calcium oxide (CaO) catalysts has made a remarkable improvement in the biodiesel industry in order to achieve the goal of green production. It was found that CaO catalysts could be prepared from a wide range of biomass sources. In the present study, the applications of several biomass-derived calcium oxide catalysts on the biodiesel production from waste cooking oil were evaluated based on the analysis from multiple journals. Furthermore, the characterisation results of the catalysts that obtained through several characterisation techniques were discussed and analysed in this study. The results from the characterisation studies revealed that the calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the biomass sources was decomposed into CaO by the calcination process. Next, Design Expert simulation was applied to examine the interaction effect between the parameters such as methanol to oil ratio, reaction duration, catalyst loading and temperature of reaction on biodiesel yield. The results revealed that the interaction between process parameters within the optimum operating ranges possessed a positive impact on the biodiesel yield. Then, the optimum operating conditions for different biomass-derived CaO catalyst models were then obtained through the application of response surface methodology (RSM). The present study proved that a variety of waste biomass can be utilised as a source of CaCO3 to generate CaO catalyst through the calcination process, which can then be applied in the transesterification of waste cooking oil to produce a high yield of biodiesel. Furthermore, some recommendations for future research were also presented.