NaAlO2/CuFe2O4 as a novel basic magnetic heterogeneous catalyst for effective biodiesel production: Synthesis, characterization, and optimization via RSM-FCCD modeling approach

Abstract

This research focus on the development of a novel and superior basic magnetic heterogeneous catalyst, using NaAlO2 as an active species supported in CuFe2O4 to produce biodiesel. Thus, a series of catalysts have been synthesized by means of conventional and low-cost methods. The features of catalyst have been elucidated through techniques such as basicity, XRD, FTIR, SEM, EDS, TG/DTG and VSM. To optimize the biodiesel’s ester content, the face-centered central composite design with the response surface methodology, was employed to assess the effect of the aspects on the process: reaction temperature, MeOH:oil molar ratio, catalyst dosage and time. The regression model presented R2 = 0.9394 and experimentally reached a maximum ester content of 95.9 % attributed to the biodiesel attained under the optimal reaction conditions: temperature of 95.0 °C, MeOH:oil molar ratio of 13:1, catalyst dosage of 8.0 % and time of 60.0 min. The catalyst presented a stable catalytic performance during four transesterification cycles (>90.0 %) and an efficient magnetic property for the catalyst separation and recovery process (Ms = 23.62 emu g−1). The biodiesel’s physicochemical properties were in compliance with ASTM D6751 standard. Finally, this extensive study reveals the basic magnetic heterogeneous catalyst as a practical and promising alternative to produce a sustainable biofuel.