Abstract
Biodiesel fuel is considered as an alternative to diesel fuel. This fuel is produced through transesterification reactions of vegetable oils or animal fat by alcohols in the presence of different catalysts. Recent studies on this process have shown that, basic heterogeneous catalysts have a higher performance than other catalysts. In this study different alkali earth metal oxides (CaO, MgO and BaO) doped SiO2 were used as catalyst for the biodiesel production process. These catalysts were synthesis by using the sol-gel method. A transesterification reaction was studied after 8h by mixing corn oil, methanol (methanol to oil molar ratio of 16:1), and 6 wt. % catalyst (based on oil) at 60oC and 600rpm. Catalyst loading was studied for different catalysts ranging in amounts from 40, 60 to 80%. The purity and yield of the produced biodiesel for 60% CaO/SiO2 was higher than other catalysts and at 97.3% and 82.1%, respectively.
Highlights
Nowadays, fuels are an inevitable part of industrial machinery development and growth of any country
In this study CaO/SiO2, MgO/SiO2 and BaO/SiO2 catalysts were used for biodiesel production from corn oil
The catalysts were synthesized at different catalyst loadings (40%, 60% and 80%)
Summary
Fuels are an inevitable part of industrial machinery development and growth of any country. This economic development has led to a huge demand for energy the major part of which is derived from fossil sources such as petroleum, coal and natural gas. Biodiesel (a mixture of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs)) as a cleaner renewable fuel is considered as the better option because of its environmental friendly characteristics while giving almost the same functional properties as fossil fuels (Semwal et al, 2011). Because plants produce oils from sunlight and air, and can do so year after year on cropland, these oils are considered renewable (Van Kasteren and Nisworo, 2007)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have