Abstract
The main purpose of this work is to investigate the application options of the char produced from gasification plants. Two promising mesoporous acidic catalysts were synthesized using char as a support material. Two char samples were collected from either a dual-stage or a rising co-current biomass gasification plant. The catalysts produced from both gasification char samples were characterized for their physiochemical and morphological properties using N2 physorption measurement, total acidity evaluation through TPD-NH3, functional groups analysis by FT-IR, and morphology determination via FESEM. Results revealed that the dual-stage char-derived mesoporous catalyst (DSC-SO4) with higher specific surface area and acidic properties provided higher catalytic activity for fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) production from waste cooking oil (WCO) than the mesoporous catalyst obtained from char produced by rising co-current gasification (RCC-SO4). Furthermore, the effects of methanol/oil molar ratio (3:1–15:1), catalyst concentration (1–5 wt.% of oil), and reaction time (30–150 min) were studied while keeping the transesterification temperature constant at 65 °C. The optimal reaction conditions for the transesterification of WCO were 4 wt.% catalyst concentration, 12:1 methanol/oil molar ratio, and 90 min operating time. The optimized reaction conditions resulted in FAME conversions of 97% and 83% over DSC-SO4 and RCC-SO4 catalysts, respectively. The char-based catalysts show excellent reusability, since they could be reused six times without any modification.
Highlights
Fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), known as biodiesel, can be produced by the transesterification/esterification process, a chemical reaction of fat/oil and oil-derived fatty acids with alcohol in the presence of a catalyst [1]
The findings revealed that the acid treatment had a negative impact on the specific surface area and porosity of the synthesized catalysts, and this reduction confirmed that the sulfonic group was impregnated successfully onto the char surface
The findings suggest that the sulfonated dual-stage gasification char catalyst had a higher fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) yield compared to the sulfonated rising co-current gasification char catalyst, which was due to its higher
Summary
Fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), known as biodiesel, can be produced by the transesterification/esterification process, a chemical reaction of fat/oil and oil-derived fatty acids with alcohol in the presence of a catalyst [1]. The main disadvantage of metallic-based catalysts is that their production cost is very high, which is considered one of the main hindrances in their application on industrial scale. Carbon-based catalysts are more feasible on an industrial scale for FAME production, owing to their cost-effectiveness and environmentally friendly nature. Char shows excellent physiochemical properties, i.e. porous structure, high specific surface area, and high chemical and thermal stability. These characteristics make it increasingly applicable for catalytic reactions or as a catalyst support instead of metallic-based support. It is inexpensive, biodegradable, and naturally contains trace elements [6,7,8]. Carbon-based catalysts possess unique characteristics such as high specific surface area, flexible pore size, and high thermal stability, which makes them more attractive as compared to metallic support-based catalysts [9,10,11,12]
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