Karanja seed shell ash: A sustainable green heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel production

Abstract

In the present study, the ash from discarded Karanja seed shell (KSS), obtained after burning dried seed shells has been identified as one of the most cost-effective and efficient green heterogeneous catalysts for biodiesel production. Soybean oil methanolsis was used to study the catalytic activity of karanja seed shell ash as solid base heterogeneous catalysts in the biodiesel production. To characterize the catalyst, XRD, WD-XRF, SEM, FT-IR, BET and TGA techniques were utilized. Soybean oil methyl ester was converted under the following experimental conditions, as determined by GC-MS, and FT-IR: a catalyst amount of 2 wt%, a methanol to oil molar ratio of 10:1, a reaction temperature of 65 °C, a reaction time of 60 min. The synthesized heterogeneous catalyst is an efficient alternative that may be utilized as an eco-friendly catalyst because it is benign, reusable, sustainable, and widely available.

Keywords

• Karanja seed shell
• Transesterification
• Heterogeneous catalyst
• Soybean oil
• Biodiesel