Optimization of Biodiesel Production from Waste Cooking Oil by Box Behnken Design Using Response Surface Methodology

Abstract

Interest in Biodiesel production has grown over the years due to concerns related to environment and the solutions include deriving energy from waste as the replacement for diesel, a petroleum-derived fuel. Biodiesel has been accepted as a green fuel as it is a renewable, non-toxic, safe and biodegradable energy material. The utilization of waste cooking oil (WCO) by converting it into biodiesel is one of the promising alternatives to diesel. An attempt to optimize the biodiesel production from WCO (a waste material) has been made via this study. The process adopted was Trans-esterification of pretreated WCO and the optimization of biodiesel production was carried out by Box-Behnken method using a response surface methodology. The variations between the analytical and experimental results were within acceptable limits. The response surface methodology resulted in an optimum yield of 96.88% (analytical) which was validated through an experiment within an acceptable error of 0.58%.