Innovative magnetic catalyst facilitates biodiesel production via transesterification of sunflower and waste cooking oils

ABSTRACT

The surging global demand for biofuels, precipitated by concerns regarding fossil fuel limitations and their associated environmental consequences has thrust biodiesel into the spotlight as a promising alternative of energy source. In this research endeavor, a novel magnetic catalyst, denoted as K compounds/Fe₃O₄, was developed by incorporating potassium into the magnetite structure via sol–gel method. This catalyst was applied in the transesterification reaction to convert sunflower and waste cooking oils to biodiesel. It was found that the most effective catalyst for biodiesel production was synthesized by using potassium nitrate at a concentration of 1 M and calcination temperature of 550°C in the catalyst preparation stage. The K compounds/Fe₃O₄ catalyst was characterized by XRD, XRF, FTIR, SEM, ASAP, and VSM techniques. SEM images demonstrated the porous structure of the catalyst. The GC-mass analysis confirmed the formation of fatty acid methyl esters. The effects of the operating conditions including reactor temperature (55 to 75°C), catalyst dosage (2.5 to 12.5 wt.%), methanol to oil molar ratio (9:1 to 18:1), time (4 to 14 h) were investigated. The best operating conditions were selected inclusive of temperature 65°C, catalyst dosage 5 wt.%, methanol-to-oil ratio 12:1, and time 8 h, and at these operating conditions, biodiesel production efficiencies of 96.28% and 84.05% were obtained for sunflower and waste cooking oils, respectively. The reusability and regeneration of the K compounds/Fe₃O₄ were studied for five cycles.

KEYWORDS:

• Biodiesel
• magnetic catalyst
• sunflower oil
• transesterification
• waste cooking oil

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this work are available from the corresponding author upon request.

Additional information

Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledged financial support from University of Kurdistan.

Notes on contributors

Ali Godarzi

Ali Godarzi obtained his MSc in Chemical Engineering from University of Kurdistan in 2021.

Pouya Vaziri

Pouya Vaziri received his MSc degree in Petroleum Engineering from Tehran University in 2022. He is affiliated with the Department of Chemical Engineering at University of Kurdistan.

Faranak Akhlaghian

Faranak Akhlaghian earned her PhD in Chemical Engineering from Tarbiat Modares University in 2010. She currently holds the position of Associate Professor at University of Kurdistan.

Farhad Rahmani

Farhad Rahmani completed his PhD in Chemical Engineering from Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz, Iran. He currently serves as an Assistant Professor at University of Kurdistan.

Milad Khaledian

Ali Godarzi obtained his MSc in Chemical Engineering from University of Kurdistan in 2021.

Milad Khaledian is a Master’s student in Chemical Engineering in University of Kurdistan, specializing in catalysts for biodiesel production.