Heterogeneously catalyzed transesterification reaction using waste snail shell for biodiesel production

Abstract

Biodiesel as an attractive energy source; a low-cost and green synthesis technique was utilized for biodiesel preparation via waste cooking oil methanolysis using waste snail shell derived catalyst. The present work aimed to investigate the production of biodiesel fuel from waste materials. The catalyst was greenly synthesized from waste snail shells throughout a calcination process at different calcination time of 2–4 h and temperature of 750–950 °C. The catalyst samples were characterized using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), and Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR). The reaction variables varying in the range of 10:1–30:1 M ratio of MeOH: oil, 3–11 wt% catalyst loading, 50–70 °C reaction temperature, and 2–6 h reaction time. The designed model optimization was set its parameters at 21.5 methanol molar ratio, 9.8 wt% catalyst loading, 4.8 h reaction time, and 62.2 °C reaction temperature, resulting in a mixture comprised of 95% esters content.

Keywords

• Transesterification reaction
• Biodiesel production
• Waste cooking oil
• Green catalyst
• Central composite methodology