Yusuff A.S., Adeniyi O.D., Azeez S.O., Olutoye M.A. and Akpan U.G. (2019), Synthesis and characterization of anthill-eggshell-Ni-Co mixed oxides composite catalyst for biodiesel production from waste frying oil, Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, U.K., 13: 37-47, Online ISSN:1932-1031, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bbb.1914

Abstract

This study was conducted to develop a new composite heterogeneous catalyst, anthill-eggshell- Ni-Co mixed oxides (AENiCo), for biodiesel production via transesterification of waste frying oil. The catalyst was synthesized using a co-precipitation method and was characterized by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF). The effects of parameters affecting the catalytic reaction, reaction temperature (40–80 °C), reaction time (1–5 h), catalyst loading (1–9 wt%), and methanol-to-oil ratio (3:1–15:1) were investigated. The stability of the spent catalyst was also investigated during reuse. The data obtained showed that the maximum biodiesel yield of 90.23% could be obtained at a reaction temperature of 70 °C, reaction time of 2 h, with a catalyst loading of 3 wt% and methanol-to-oil ratio of 12:1. The stability study showed that the AENiCo catalyst could be reused for up to four cycles.