Using chicken-eggshell-derived calcium oxide as an ideal catalyst towards esterification of high-included free fatty acid waste cooking oil; Application of Taguchi method
Ali Shokuhi Rad
1
(
Department of Chemical Engineering, Qaemshahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qaemshahr, Iran
)
Mazyar Sharifzadeh Baei
2
(
Department of Chemical Engineering, Ayatollah Amoli Branch, Islamic Azad University, Amol, Iran
)
Keywords: Biodiesel, catalyst, Transesterification, Waste cooking oil, Waste chicken-eggshell,
Abstract :
In this study, we used chicken eggshells as a low-cost catalyst for the esterification process of oil with a high fatty acid (FFA) content. We used the Taguchi method to optimize both esterification and transesterification steps. The waste chicken eggshell was calcinated at a temperature of 700°C for 4 hours to synthesize calcium oxide (CaO) active catalyst. The newly obtained catalyst was characterized by BET, TEM, and SEM. Then, this catalyst was employed for the transesterification of waste cooking oil. This work aimed to optimize critical parameters in preparing biodiesel production of waste cooking oil to maximize efficiency. Hence, the effects of reaction temperature, reaction time, catalyst amount, and methanol/ oil molar ratio on biodiesel yield were investigated and optimized through the Taguchi method. The maximum biodiesel efficiency is calculated to be 84% through transesterification at the following optimum conditions: the reaction temperature of 80°C, the reaction time of 1.5 h, the ratio of methanol/oil of 10:1, and the catalyst amount of 2% w/w.
