Abstract
This study was conducted to explore the production of magnesium oxide from raw salt solution using electrochemical precipitation, followed by calcination. Electrochemical precipitation was conducted by electrolysis of the salt solution using nickel rods as cathodes and graphite as anodes. Two sets of salt solutions were prepared: one set without pretreatment and another with BaCl2 pretreatment. The solutions were used to study the effect of salt concentration, potential, and electrolysis time. The representatives of the MgO produced were tested as catalysts for transesterification of coconut oil. The results indicate that optimum mass of precipitate was produced from 400 mg/L salt solution electrolyzed using 8 V for 60 min. Elemental analysis using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) revealed the presence of Mg as the main component of the precipitate, confirming the electrochemical conversion of Mg2+ into solid Mg(OH)2. The MgO with the purity of 74.23% and 88.87% was produced from non-pretreated and pretreated salt solution, respectively. The transesterification experiments indicate that the yield of 90% and 98% was achieved using the MgO produced from non-pretreated and pretreated salt solution, respectively.
Highlights
Vegetable oils are highly important natural products obtained from many types of plants
Elemental composition of raw salt Before use, the raw salt was analyzed using the X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) technique to determine the elemental composition of the salt
The present investigation revealed the prospective potential of raw salt as an alternative source of MgO, and the opportunity of application of electrochemical precipitation process as production method
Summary
Vegetable oils are highly important natural products obtained from many types of plants. Currently, they are known as functional compounds as they can be used in the production of petrochemicals and clean hydrocarbon fuels [1] and as a lubricant [2], agglomerant [3], nanocarrier for bioactive compounds in health supplements [4], and biodiesel [5,6,7,8]. Biodiesel is a renewable energy source produced through transesterification reaction, in which simple alcohol, mostly methanol, acts on vegetable oils, resulting in the synthesis of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs). Biodiesel is highly essential to reduce energy dependence on fossil fuels, considering the undeniable depletion of fossil energy reserves and accelerating increase in energy demand [6,7,8, 10]
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