Analysis of RSM Method for Optimization of Ultrasound-Assisted KOH Catalyzed Biodiesel Production from Waste Cotton-Seed Cooking Oil

Abstract

Ultrasound-based biodiesel synthesis using waste cotton-seed cooking oil (WCCO) is significant because it is a highly energy-efficient process and the reaction time also gets cut down. This chapter is focused on the comparison of optimization results of a biodiesel production from WCCO catalyzed by KOH via an ultrasound (US)-based transesterification process using response surface methodology-based box-Behnken design (BBD) and central composite design (CCD) methods. Quadratic polynomial equations are obtained by analyzing experimental values for transesterification reaction. To reinforce the biodiesel yield following parameters are considered: methyl alcohol: oil ratio (molar ratio), KOH amount (wt%), and process temperature. The impact of these parameters on biodiesel yield is inspected by different plots. It was observed that the catalyst amount was the foremost prominent parameter on the biodiesel for both BBD and CCD methods. The process variables optimized for biodiesel yield were in a good match for BBD and CCD methods individually – methyl alcohol: oil molar ratio: 6:1, KOH wt%: 0.50%, reaction temperature: 50 ºC, and process biodiesel yield: 98%. An imperative connection with experimental results brings an R2 value of 98.66% for BBD method, while in CCD method, R2 value is 99.95%.