The activity and stability of CeO2@CaO catalysts for the production of biodiesel

Ni Zhang,Huiyuan Xue,Rongrong Hu

doi:10.1039/c8ra06884d

Abstract

A novel CeO2@CaO catalyst was prepared via a hydrothermal method. The physicochemical properties and morphologies of the prepared CeO2@CaO catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, N2 physisorption, CO2 temperature-programmed desorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. It was found that the prepared CeO2@CaO catalyst had a distinct core–shell structure. The catalytic activity of the CeO2@CaO sample as a heterogeneous catalyst for the transesterification of soybean oil to produce biodiesel has been studied. The results showed that the optimum yield of biodiesel can reach 98% over the CeO2@CaO-60 catalyst under the reaction conditions of 3 wt% catalyst, methanol to oil molar ratio of 6 : 1, reaction temperature of 70 °C and reaction time of 6 h. Stability tests indicated that the biodiesel yield can reach more than 80% even after 9 reaction cycles due to the strong synergic interaction between CaO and CeO2.

Highlights

As is well known, due to the shortage of fossil fuels, environmental pollution and ecological deterioration, people have turned their attention to low-carbon, environmentally friendly, clean and safe renewable resources
The physicochemical properties and morphologies of the prepared CeO2@calcium oxide (CaO) catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, N2 physisorption, CO2 temperature-programmed desorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis
For all the CeO2@CaO and pure CaO catalysts, the transesteri cation reaction started rapidly and the fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield reached more than 80% in the rst 2 h

Summary

Introduction

Due to the shortage of fossil fuels, environmental pollution and ecological deterioration, people have turned their attention to low-carbon, environmentally friendly, clean and safe renewable resources. The catalytic activity of the CeO2@CaO sample as a heterogeneous catalyst for the transesterification of soybean oil to produce biodiesel has been studied.

Results

Conclusion