Bi-ZnO Heterogeneous Catalyst for Transesterification of Crude Jatropha Oil to Fatty Acid Methyl Ester

M. A. Olutoye *

Department of Chemical Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria and School of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Engineering Campus, Seri Ampangan, 14300 NibongTebal, Penang, Malaysia

B. Suleiman

Department of Chemical Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria School of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Engineering Campus, Seri Ampangan, 14300 NibongTebal, Penang, Malaysia

A. S. Yusuff

Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.


Abstract

The transesterification of crude jatropha oil (CJO) to biodiesel using Bi-ZnO (bi-zinc oxide) as a solid catalyst was investigated. The catalyst was prepared by co-precipitation technique, calcined and characterized with XRD, TEM and the surface area, pore volume and pore size distribution of the developed catalyst were measured using BET method to give insights into its performance. It was established that sample loading of 2.0 wt.% Bi on ZnO could exhibit the highest catalytic activity when the transesterification reaction was carried out at reflux of methanol (65°C), with a 12:1 molar ratio of methanol to oil and a catalyst amount of 4 wt.%, the conversion of jatropha oil was 95%during 1 h of reaction. The utilization of the catalyst for transesterification of non-edible oil will reduce dependence on food-grade oil for industrial application. The catalyst when washed using methanol and oven dried at 80°C, can be reused for further tranesterification of the oil.

Keywords: Biodiesel, heterogeneous catalysis, transesterification, bismuth loading on ZnO


How to Cite

A. Olutoye, M., Suleiman, B., & S. Yusuff, A. (2016). Bi-ZnO Heterogeneous Catalyst for Transesterification of Crude Jatropha Oil to Fatty Acid Methyl Ester. Advances in Research, 7(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.9734/AIR/2016/20716

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