Utilization of limestone derived calcium oxide for biodiesel production from non-edible pongamia oil

• Published in: Environmental progress & sustainable energy Vol. 35; no. 6; pp. 1758 - 1764
• Main Authors: Anjana, P.A., Niju, S., Meera Sheriffa Begum, K. M., Anantharaman, N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.11.2016
• Subjects: esterification; fatty acid methyl ester; free fatty acids; Pongamia; transesterification
• ISSN: 1944-7442; 1944-7450
• DOI: 10.1002/ep.12384

Natural lime stones were calcined in a muffle furnace at 1000°C for 4 h to obtain calcium oxide (CaO) and tested as a solid catalyst for biodiesel production via transesterification of non‐edible pongamia oil. Limestone based CaO catalyst was characterized using Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy (FTIR), X‐Ray Diffraction (XRD), and Braunauer‐Emmett‐Teller (BET) techniques. The effect of transesterification process parameters such as amount of catalyst, methanol to oil molar ratio, reaction time and reaction temperature on biodiesel conversion were investigated. A maximum biodiesel conversion of 97.28% was observed at a methanol to oil ratio of 15:1, catalyst amount of 12 wt %, reaction time of 3 h and reaction temperature of 65°C. The structure of the biodiesel was characterized by FTIR and biodiesel conversion was determined by 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (1H NMR). © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 35: 1758–1764, 2016