Optimized Biodiesel Production from used Cooking Oil Blend over a Bifunctional Catalyst Composite derived from Concrete Waste and Orange Peels

Abstract

In facilitating a shift from the traditional fossil fuel into biofuels, a heterogeneous bio-based catalyst was utilized to produce biodiesel. This bifunctional catalyst was produced using a combination of concrete waste and orange peels for the transesterification and esterification of a blend of waste oils (palm and vegetable oil) to produce biodiesel. The catalyst prepared possessed a large pore volume and rich surface area which made it adequate to synthesize biodiesel. The response surface model indicated a peak biodiesel yield of 82.59% at reaction conditions:  60 °C reaction temperature, 5 wt.% catalyst loading, 15:1 methanol to oil ratio, and at 60 mins reaction time. The existence of high active sites was indicated by the high biodiesel yield in the bifunctional catalyst. Optimization result as indicated from the analysis of variance (ANOVA) shows that the catalyst dose, the ratio of methanol to oil, reaction duration and temperature substantially influenced the production of biodiesel. The produced biodiesel had physical, compositional, and combustion characteristics that met established standards, making it an appropriate fuel suitable in compression ignition engines