Abstract
Waste eggshell is proposed as a highly active catalyst for glycerol carbonate production from dimethyl carbonate (DMC) and glycerol. The effect of reaction temperature, reaction time and catalyst loading on the reaction performance were investigated in order to find a suitable operating condition. CaO derived from waste eggshell exhibits catalytic activity comparable to commercial CaO. By using CaO eggshell, glycerol conversion of 96% can be achieved within 90 min of reaction time under 2.5:1 feed molar ratio of DMC to glycerol, 0.08 mole ratio of CaO to glycerol and reaction temperature of 60°C. The catalyst was examined by XRD, TGA/DSC, SEM, N2 adsorption-desorption and Hammett indicators method. Utilization of eggshell as a catalyst for glycerol carbonate production not only provides a cost-effective and value-added of waste eggshell as a green catalyst, but also decrease amount of waste and its treatment cost which is ecologically friendly.
Highlights
Biodiesel is a world-recognized renewable fuel for fossil diesel substitution
We investigated the possibility of application of eggshell as a catalyst for glycerol carbonate production from glycerol and dimethyl carbonate
The structure and crystalline phases of calcined eggshell were analyzed by X-ray diffraction and basic strength was determined by using Hammett Indicator (H_)
Summary
Biodiesel is a world-recognized renewable fuel for fossil diesel substitution. It is generally produced from transesterification of vegetable oils with alcohols in the presence of an alkaline-based catalyst which gives glycerol as a by-product. The price of glycerol has fallen significantly since 2006 [1] This has prompted to convert low cost glycerol to value-added products [2]. Converting of glycerol to value added product is crucial to secure the sustainability of biodiesel production in term of cost competitive [3]. CaO can be derived from natural calcium carbonate (CaCO3) source for example dolomite, mollusk shell, crab shell and egg shell by calcination. We investigated the possibility of application of eggshell as a catalyst for glycerol carbonate production from glycerol and dimethyl carbonate.
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