Modified banana peel biochar-based green nanocatalyst for biodiesel production and its utilization to improve diesel engine performance and emission

Abstract

This study introduces the integration of catalyst green, waste oil, and ultrasonication procedure for biodiesel synthesis, thereby addressing existing gaps in the present paper. In this scientific research, an efficient modified banana peel green catalyst was prepared via the pyrolysis procedure and utilized for biodiesel production from waste edible oil (WEO). Various analyses, including XRD, FTIR, FESEM, EDX/mapping, CO2-TPD, TEM, and BET-BJH were conducted to evaluate the catalyst structure. The results reveled that modified banana peel have spherical shaped particles with surface area of 127.56 m2g−1 and the size of the particle is <50 nm with basic sites of 206.4 µmol/g indicating suitable as catalyst for transesterification process. The highest biodiesel yield of 97.13 % was achieved under optimum conditions (ultrasonication time of 32.53 min, catalyst dosage of 3.23 wt%, methanol to WEO molar ratio of 11.51 and reaction temperature of 63.41 °C). Besides, the reusability of the modified banana peel nanocatalysts was demonstrated through multiple reuse stages, indicating high stability and consistent biodiesel yield over seven cycles (87.65 %) with biodiesel yield reduction of 9.48 %. Furthermore, the study investigated the effects of incorporating 20 % biodiesel into diesel (B20) and the presence of modified banana biochar in B20 on a compression-ignition diesel engine. The results revealed positive impacts on reducing CO (26.08 %) and UHC (25 %) emissions compared to diesel fuel and enhancing engine parameters using B20 with 80 ppm banana peel biochar. Moreover, the activation energy and exponential factor for the conversion of WEO to biodiesel are reported as 45.58 kJ/mol and 7.97×105 min−1, respectively. In summary, the modified banana peel nanocatalyst emerges as a standout option for biodiesel production, offering outstanding reusability, rapid reaction rates, and significant biodiesel efficiency attained within a quick reaction time.