Investigation on potential of nano - catalyst for re - esterification

• Main Author: Avinash A / l Jevaseelan
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: GLYCEROLYSIS WIN NANO - CATALYST FOR BIODIESEL PRODUCTION

The rapid increase in energy consumption and the depletion of petroleum reserves have led to an increase in oil prices on a global scale. One alternate energy source that has a high potential to be developed in Malaysia is biodiesel. Waste cooking oil is a potential raw material in the production of biodiesel. In this study, biodiesel was made using waste cooking oil and a nano-catalyst called nano-copper oxide (nano-CuO catalyst). The production of biodiesel starts by using waste cooking oil and mixing it with a raw material called crude glycerol. The mixture is then precipitated for 40 minutes by heating the waste cooking oil and crude glycerol until the crude glycerol melts and the solution appears to be in a clear state. The glycerolysis process was carried out by mixing the nano-CuO catalyst with the waste cooking oil solution with various ratios at a temperature of 65℃. After the temperature is reached, the waste cooking oil solution is poured into the funnel as the stirrer starts to stir the solution with a variation of time 10, 20, and 30 minutes. Two parameters have been observed in this study which is the use of different molar ratios with various catalyst concentrations, different microwave power with various catalyst concentrations. The results show that the optimum conditions during the experiment were by using a molar ratio of 1:3 with a microwave power of 440 W, a reaction temperature of 96.2 ℃ with a reaction time of 30 minutes. Under these conditions mentioned, the lowest FFA value obtained was 0.157 %. Therefore, what can be concluded here is that the lowest FFA value of waste cooking oil could be obtained through the glycerolysis process.