Development and Characterization of a Composite Anthill-chicken Eggshell Catalyst for Biodiesel Production from Waste Frying Oil

The primary aim of this research is to synthesis composite anthill-chicken eggshell catalyst, which is characterized and employed for the synthesis of biodiesel from waste frying oil. The as-synthesized catalyst was characterized using various characterization techniques, such as X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Fourier transform infrared radiation (FTIR), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Basicity. The influence of different reaction parameters on the catalytic reaction, reaction time, catalyst loading and reaction temperature in the range of 50–75°C were studied at fixed methanol/oil ratio of 6:1. The experimental data obtained showed that at reaction time of 2 h, catalyst loading of 5 wt% and reaction temperature of 60°C, the biodiesel yield was 70%. The synthesized catalyst was found to convert low-grade oil into biodiesel via a single-step transesterification process, and its activity has the potential for improvement.

Anthill; Biodiesel; Chicken eggshell; Transesterification; Waste frying oil

This study revealed that CAE eggshell is a good heterogeneous catalyst for the transesteri?cation of WFO. The thermal treatment of the catalyst at 1,000°C for 4 h resulted in an increase in surface area, leading to better catalytic activity for the formation of methyl esters. Under the optimum conditions of a 6:1 molar ratio of methanol to oil, addition of 5 wt% of CAE catalyst, and 60°C reaction temperature, the biodiesel yield was 70% at 2 h. This highly ef?cient and low-cost waste catalyst could make the process of biodiesel production from WFOs economically viable and fully ecofriendly, such that it would be competitive with petroleum diesel. The experimental results showed that the biodiesel produced in the present work has some fuel properties that are relatively close to those of mineral diesel and comparable to those of the ASTM biodiesel standards, while a few of its properties are not. Therefore, the catalyst may require modification with promoters, two-step transesterification due to the high free fatty acid content in WFO, and testing with various types of oils.

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