SiO2-Rich Sugar Cane Bagasse Ash Catalyst for Transesterification of Palm Oil

• Main Authors: Abdul Mutalib, A.A (Author), Ibrahim, M.L (Author), Islam, A. (Author), Kassim, M.F (Author), Kaus, N.H.M (Author), Mastuli, M.S (Author), Matmin, J. (Author), Shohaimi, N.A.M (Author), Tan, Y.H (Author), Taufiq-Yap, Y.H (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Springer, 2020
• Subjects: Bagasse; Biodiesel; Biodiesel production; Brunauer emmett tellers; Calcium oxide; CaO supported catalyst; Carbon dioxide; Catalyst activity; Catalytic performance; Catalytic reusability; Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; Gravimetric analysis; Lime; Molar ratio; Palm oil; Reaction temperature; Reusability; Scanning electron microscopy; Silica; Sugar cane; Sugar cane bagasse ash catalyst; Sugar cane bagasse ashes; Surface characteristics; Temperature programmed desorption; Thermal gravimetric analyses (TGA); Thermogravimetric analysis; Transesterification; Transesterification reaction
• Online Access: View Fulltext in Publisher; View in Scopus
• ISBN: 19391234 (ISSN)
• ISSN: 19391234 (ISSN)
• DOI: 10.1007/s12155-020-10119-6

This study demonstrated the performance of the sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) impregnated with calcium oxide (CaO) as a novel heterogeneous basic catalyst in biodiesel production. The SCBA was prepared by calcination for 2 h at 500 to 800 °C and impregnated with CaO loadings (10 to 40 wt.%). The prepared SCBA/CaO catalyst was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature programmed desorption of carbon dioxide (TPD-CO2), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface characteristics. A series of transesterification reactions were conducted to evaluate the performance of the catalysts. As a result, highest FAME yield of 93.8% was obtained by using SCBA600°C CaO(40%) catalyst at 20:1 methanol-to-oil molar ratio, reaction temperature of 65 °C, with 6 wt.% catalyst in 3 h. Besides, the catalyst can be reused up to 5 reaction cycles with biodiesel yield of 93.0% and 70.3% at first and fifth cycles, respectively. In this work, it was found that the natural SiO2 in the SCBA has a significant role to enhance the catalytic performance and reduce the catalyst’s deactivation drawback by minimizing the leaching of active sites. © 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.