Study on The Potential of Waste Cockle Shell Derived Calcium Oxide for Biolubricant Production

Abstract

Abstract Biolubricant which can be produced from the sources of vegetable oils and animal fats are drawing great attention to replace petroleum based lubricant due to more sustainable and environmentally friendly. In this study, the performance of calcium oxide derived from waste cockle shell is studied as the heterogeneous base catalyst to produce biolubricant from waste cooking oil (WCO) as the feedstock. The biolubricant was synthesized via two steps transesterification reaction at different molar ratio of trimethylolpropane (TMP) to oil (3:1, 3.5:1 and 4:1), catalyst loading (3, 4 and 5% w/w) and constant reaction temperature of 130°C and 4h of reaction time. The physical properties such as viscosity and viscosity index were studied as well as fatty acid composition from GC analysis and functional group from FTIR analysis. The result showed that the TMP triester conversion was obtained at 97% for 4% w/w of catalyst loading and 3:1 of molar ratio of TMP to oil. The physical properties of TMP triesters shown that it fulfill the requirement of ISO VG32. FTIR analysis for derived catalyst confirm that WCS has the potential to replace commercial calcium oxide for biolubricant production. While the analysis of FTIR for TMP triester shows superior thermal stability and low-temperature due to functional group present. As the conclusion, waste cockle shells have promising viability in the two steps transesterification for biolubricant production.