Corncob residue as heterogeneous acid catalyst for green synthesis of biodiesel: A short review

Primata Mardina,Erita Hijriyati,Abubakar Tuhuloula,Sarifah Sarifah,Hesti Wijayanti

doi:10.21924/cst.6.2.2021.460

Primata Mardina, Erita Hijriyati + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.21924/cst.6.2.2021.460

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Abstract

The utilization of an appropriate catalyst in biodiesel production depends on the free fatty acid content of vegetable oil as a feedstock. Recently, heterogeneous acid catalysts are widely chosen for biodiesel production. However, these catalysts are non-renewable, highly expensive and low stability. Due to the aforementioned drawbacks of commercial heterogeneous acid catalyst, a number of efforts have been made to develop renewable green solid acid catalysts derived from biomass. Published literature revealed that the application of the biomass derived solid acid catalysts can achieve up to 98% yield of biodiesel. This article focused on corncob as raw material in solid acid catalyst preparation for biodiesel production. The efficient preparation method and performance comparation are discussed here. The corncob derived heterogeneous acid catalysts provides an environmentally friendly and green synthesis for biodiesel production.

Highlights

The depletion and drawbacks of fossil fuel have shifted the world attention to renewable energy sources [1,2,3]
Heterogeneous acid catalysts have an enormous potential to replace conventional catalysts in biodiesel production with good efficiency. They are suitable for low quality feedstock containing high free fatty acid (FFA) and able to reduce the production cost for biodiesel production
Biomass waste derived heterogeneous acid catalyst is the best candidate for the cost reduction purpose and safe for the environment

Summary

Introduction

The depletion and drawbacks of fossil fuel have shifted the world attention to renewable energy sources [1,2,3]. Based upon its chemical composition and abundant availability as agricultural residue, corncob is highly potential to be a solid acid catalyst for chemical reaction including the esterification of high-FFA vegetable oils to produce biodiesel. The reaction time, temperature, catalyst loading, and alcohol to reactant molar ratio were evaluated to justify the catalytic activity of corncob-derived heterogeneous acid catalyst.

Results

Conclusion