Biodiesel production from date seed oil (Phoenix dactylifera L.) via egg shell derived heterogeneous catalyst

• Published in: Chemical engineering research & design 2018-04, Vol.132, p.644-651
• Main Authors: Farooq, Muhammad, Ramli, Anita, Naeem, Abdul, Mahmood, Tahira, Ahmad, Sohail, Humayun, Muhammad, Islam, Muhammad Ghayas Ul
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Activation energy; Alternative energy sources; Biodiesel; Biodiesel fuels; Catalysis; Catalysts; Chemical synthesis; Eco-friendly catalyst; Economic analysis; Economic development; Egg shell materials; Esters; Fatty acids; Methanol; Reaction time; Shells; Transesterification
• ISSN: 0263-8762; 1744-3563
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cherd.2018.02.002

[Display omitted] •Waste egg shells were used to prepare eco-friendly catalyst for date seed oil transesterification.•The biodiesel yield was optimized at different experimental conditions.•Kinetics was determined to study the feasibility of biodiesel from date seed oil.•The obtained biodiesel complied with the ASTMD6751 and EN14214. This work explains the preparation of an efficient catalyst from waste chicken egg shells for exploring environment-friendly and cost-effective biodiesel production process for socio-economic growth. XRD, BET, TGA, and TPD-CO2 analysis were employed to evaluate the physicochemical properties of the prepared catalysts. The catalytic performance of the synthesized catalysts was tested in biodiesel production via transesterification from date seed oil under different reaction conditions. It was found that catalyst prepared at 900°C exhibited excellent transesterification activity and provided maximum yield of fatty acid methyl esters up to 93.5% under optimal reaction conditions, i.e. reaction time of 1.5h, methanol–oil molar ratio of 12:1, and catalyst amount of 5wt.%. In addition, the catalyst exhibited substantial stability and reusability during biodiesel conversion.