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ABSTRACT
The current research proposed the work on the consumption of waste cooking oil (WCO) as a valuable resource for the production of biodiesel. This study focuses on maximizing output yield by employing composite heterogeneous catalysts, namely calcinated calcium oxide with aluminum oxide (CaO/Al2O3) and calcium oxide with titanium oxide (CaO/TiO2). The calcination process was adopted for the catalysts at 600°C for 5 h to improve catalytic activities and to increase surface area. XRD and TGA were implemented to analyze the crystal structure and thermal stability of these heterogeneous catalysts. Experimentation was planned by implementing the response surface methodology (RSM) approach in combination with the Box-Behnken design. The optimum yield of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) was experimentally observed at 96.56%, using CaO/Al2O3 at methanol to oil (m/o) molar ratio of 11.9:1, 3.19% catalyst loading, 53.79°C and 76.86 minutes (min). The maximum experimental yield with CaO/TiO2 was observed at 98.15% with the optimized operating conditions of independent process variables viz. m/o molar ratio 11:99, 2.53 wt.% catalyst loading and 68.14 min at 59.79°C. The research recommends the potential use of WCO and both the heterogeneous catalysts for optimal biodiesel yield; however, CaO/TiO2 exhibits superior performance over CaO/Al2O3, which is also confirmed by the XRD and TGA results.
GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Abbreviation
| (m/o) ratio | = | Methanol/oil (m/o) ratio |
| CaO/Al2O3 | = | Calcium oxide with aluminum oxide |
| CaO/TiO2 | = | Calcium oxide with titanium oxide |
| FAMEs | = | Fatty acid methyl esters |
| FFA | = | Free fatty acid |
| GC | = | Gas chromatograph |
| h | = | Hours |
| min | = | Minutes |
| RSM | = | Response surface methodology |
| TGA | = | Thermo-gravimetric analyses |
| WCO | = | Waste cooking oil |
| wt.% | = | Weight percentage |
| XRD | = | X-ray diffractometer |
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Mayank Agnihotri
Mayank Agnihotri is a dynamic professional with more than 10 years of combined experience in both petroleum industry and academic roles. He has also served as an Assistant Professor from September 2018 to March 2021 at GIET College of Engineering in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh. He served the industry as a Petroleum Engineer from September 2014 to August 2018. Currently, he is pursuing a Ph.D. in Petroleum Engineering from UPES Dehradun, India. He hold an MTech degree in Petroleum Exploration & Production from Andhra University and a B.Tech degree in Geoscience Engineering from UPES Dehradun.
Rahul Chamola
Rahul Chamola was born in Chamoli, India, in 1992. He received a B.E. degree in mechanical engineering from GEU, Dehradun, India, in 2014, and an M. Tech. degree in mechanical engineering from UTU, Uttarakhand, India, in 2018. From 2019 to 2020, he worked as an Assistant Professor at DBUU, Dehradun, India. Currently, he is pursuing his PhD degree at the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), Dehradun, India. His research interests encompass hybrid laminated composites, epoxy nanocomposites, advanced composites, and materials for sustainability.
Uday Bhan
Uday Bhan has been awarded his PhD in 2012, in Earth Science from University of Petroleum & Energy Studies [UPES], Dehradun, India. His PhD work was in Paleobiology & Organic Geochemistry of Semri Group Sediments, Vindhyan Basin, India. At present Dr. Uday Bhan is working as Senior Associate Professor & Program Lead in the Department of Petroleum Engineering & Earth Sciences, UPES. His specialization is in Hydrogeology, organic geochemistry, ground water chemistry, atmospheric pollutants study, basin analysis, Oil & Gas domain. He has graduated four Ph.D. students in the area of Geochemistry of Himalayan Sediments & water chemistry. Dr. Uday has published 40+ research papers in peer-reviewed journals, 06 book chapters in his research areas, supervised 10+ projects for UG & PG students. He is faculty advisor of American Association of Petroleum Geologist [AAPG], country coordinator of AAPG, India, Ex- Officio member of AAPG, in Asia pacific region. Dr. Uday is active and associated member in many national and international societies [SPE, AAPG, SEG].
Siddharth Jain
Dr. Siddharth Jain undergraduate training has been predominantly in mechanical engineering. He pursued his master’s and doctoral degrees at the IIT Roorkee, focusing on energy-related research. Before joining UPES, Dr. Jain worked as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the NUS, Singapore. Additionally, he has worked at the UoA, Canada, and the COER, Roorkee. He has been recognized for his research work and has been featured in the world’s top 2% researchers list by Stanford University, USA, for the past two years.