Process Optimisation and Kinetics Study of Biodiesel Production from Dairy Waste Scum Using ZnO Heterogeneous Nanocatalyst

Abstract

The present paper describes about the biodiesel production from diary waste using zinc oxide as a heterogeneous catalysts. The bio-oil from dairy waste scum was collected and used for biodiesel production. Zinc oxide nanostructures was synthesised by sol-gel method and characterised using particle size analyser, X-ray diffractometer and thermogravimetric analyser. The synthesised heterogeneous ZnO nanocatalyst was used for transesterification of dairy waste scum. The maximum biodiesel yield of 94.8% was obtained at the optimised reaction conditions, 0.8 wt. %, and methanol to oil molar ratio 9:1, reaction time 40 min, reaction temperature 65 °C, and mixing speed 300 rpm. The fatty acid methyl ester production reaction follows a first order reaction rate. This research work shows that synthesised ZnO nanocatalyst was an effective catalyst to produce biodiesel from dairy waste scum.