Metal-Organic Framework-Derived Solid Catalyst for Biodiesel Production from Jatropha curcas Oil: Kinetic Study and Process Optimization Using Response Surface Methodology

Abstract

Jatropha curcas oil (JCO) is a promising source for the manufacturing of biodiesel and has gained a lot of attention due to its environmental friendliness and availability in many parts of the world as a result of the rising need for energy. In this study, JCO was converted to biodiesel using a heterogeneous CaO-ZrO2 catalyst made from biomass and MOFs. The central composite design of response surface technique was used to change the transesterification parameters to enhance JCO conversion. After optimization using RSM, the reaction parameters were set to a catalyst loading of 6.34 wt%, a reaction time of 68 minutes, a temperature of 92.9°C, and a methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 18 : 1; then, the yield of biodiesel was found to be 97.12±0.4%. Using various analytical techniques, the chemical composition, texture, and its morphology have been examined by FT-IR, SEM-EDS, XRD, TGA, and BET. Moreover, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and GC-MS have all been used to describe the biodiesel that has been created. While the catalyst’s activity reduced, it was found that, after being washed with hexane and dried by calcination, it could still be used up to the fifth cycle.