Transesterification of moringa oleifera oil to biodiesel using potassium flouride loaded eggshell as catalyst

Abstract

In recent years, biodiesel has received great attention in the production of engine fuel. Biodiesel can be produced by esterification reaction, transesterification reaction or both esterification and transesterification reactions of non-edible oil. However, high production cost of biodiesel is a remaining problem. Therefore, a low-cost and reliable feedstocks for biodiesel production such as moringa oleifera as non-edible plant oils could be a potential of alternative fuel. In addition, waste eggshell can be a good candidate as a low-cost catalyst for the reaction. In this study, potassium fluoride (KF) loaded on calcium oxide (CaO) and eggshell were prepared. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) and nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis. The biodiesel productions (fatty acid methyl esters, FAME) were carried out in a batch reactor with different parameters such as temperature (50°C- 60°C), molar ratio of methanol to oil (4-6), reaction time (1-3 hours) and KF loading (1wt.%- 25wt.%) on eggshell. Maximum FAME yield of 94.2% is observed on KF/eggshell with 5% of catalyst amount, 6:1 molar ratio of methanol to oil, 50°C reaction temperature, 1 hour reaction time and 1% of KF loading is observed to be optimum for better conversions. Therefore, the KF/eggshell catalyst has been proven to be a promising catalyst for biodiesel production which is simple, economical and efficient.