Preparation and characterization of highly active solid base catalyst from snail shell for biodiesel production

Abstract

ABSTRACTSnail shell (SS), a good natural source of calcium carbonate, was tested as a catalyst for transesterification reaction. SS was calcined and modified with potassium hydroxide (KOH) to obtain a catalyst with high activity, and characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectra, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) and thermal gravimetric analysis. Calcined SS and KOH impregnated SS (KOH/SS) were tested for their catalytic activity via transesterification process, and it was found that biodiesel yield had been increased from 90 to 96%. The optimum conditions for the highest yield were 6 wt.% catalyst loading, 65°C temperature, 9:1 methanol to oil molar ratio, and 3.5 h reaction time. The solid base catalyst from SS exhibits excellent catalytic activity and stability for the transesterification reaction, which suggests that this catalyst could potentially be used as a solid base catalyst for biodiesel production. To examine the reusability of the catalyst developed from SS, five transesterification reaction cycles were performed.