Abstract
The present study was performed to optimize a heterogeneous calcium methoxide (Ca(OCH3)2) catalyzed transesterification process assisted with tetrahydrofuran (THF) as a cosolvent for biodiesel production from waste cooking oil. Response surface methodology (RSM) with a 5-level-4-factor central composite design was applied to investigate the effect of experimental factors on the percentage of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) conversion. A quadratic model with an analysis of variance obtained from the RSM is suggested for the prediction of FAME conversion and reveals that 99.43% of the observed variation is explained by the model. The optimum conditions obtained from the RSM were 2.83 wt% of catalyst concentration, 11.6 : 1 methanol-to-oil molar ratio, 100.14 min of reaction time, and 8.65% v/v of THF in methanol concentration. Under these conditions, the properties of the produced biodiesel satisfied the standard requirement. THF as cosolvent successfully decreased the catalyst concentration, methanol-to-oil molar ratio, and reaction time when compared with biodiesel production without cosolvent. The results are encouraging for the application of Ca(OCH3)2 assisted with THF as a cosolvent for environmentally friendly and sustainable biodiesel production.
Highlights
Heterogeneous catalysts have been developed for use in a transesterification reaction for biodiesel production due to the problems of homogeneous catalysts in terms of water treatment and the nonreusability of the catalyst
In the previous work [5], THF was used as a cosolvent to accelerate the biodiesel production using a calcium oxide (CaO) catalyst but no experiments have been reported on using THF as a cosolvent with Ca(OCH3)2 catalyst
The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results were compared with the standard diffraction pattern in the data base of the International Center of Diffraction Data (ICDD)
Summary
Heterogeneous catalysts have been developed for use in a transesterification reaction for biodiesel production due to the problems of homogeneous catalysts in terms of water treatment and the nonreusability of the catalyst. Heterogeneous catalysts have many advantages [1], their disadvantages are many such as a high oil-toalcohol molar ratio, high temperature, and a long reaction time [2]. THF is a nonhazardous and unreactive chemical with a low boiling point (67∘C), and it can be distilled with methanol and recycled at the end of the reaction process. In the previous work [5], THF was used as a cosolvent to accelerate the biodiesel production using a calcium oxide (CaO) catalyst but no experiments have been reported on using THF as a cosolvent with Ca(OCH3) catalyst. Response surface methodology (RSM) has been applied to analyze research involving a complex variable process.
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