Synthesis and Characterization of Nanoparticle Enhanced Biodiesel using Azadirachta Indica (Neem) leaf extract

Abstract

Diesel fuel demand is rising globally but its direct combustion possesses many adverse health and environmental impacts. Biodiesel production has emerged as a promising substitute for commercial diesel. Biodiesel is usually prepared from edible or non-edible vegetable oils. Using edible oils for biodiesel production raises many issues such as availability, food security and cost. While in case of non-edible oils, main issues arise in terms of land use change. Fortunately, waste vegetable oils (WVO) are excellent options to solve all these problems, except for trivial costs associated with their collection and recycling. Despite several scientific breakthroughs, the biofuel production process is a slow process and there are various side reactions which inhibit the transesterification reaction. In the recent decade, nanotechnology has vastly expanded. The unique characteristics of nanoparticles such as high chemical stability, adsorption capacity and catalytic activity makes it attractive for enhancing the biofuel production process. In the present work, silver and copper oxide nanoparticles (Ag-NP and CuO-NP) were prepared using a green synthesis method. Three samples of biodiesel were prepared from WVO, one using Ag-NP catalyst, one using CuO-NP catalyst and one without nanoparticles. Prepared biofuel showed a remarkable yield of 72.9% and 64.6%, for Ag-NP biodiesel and CuO-NP biodiesel respectively. Acid values of both the prepared samples of NP biodiesels were decreased by over 7% ensuring a better quality.