Development And Characterization Of Zeolitey From A Nigerian Local Raw Material

Zeolites are important chemical materials used in chemical processes. The manufacture of the materials usually involves the use of expensive chemicals. This study involves the use of Elefun Nigerian Kaolin (ENK) as precursor material for the development of zeolite Y. The synthesis of zeolite Y was successful following a sequence: collection of raw kaolin clay from Elefun area of Ogun state, Nigeria; subjecting it to, calcination, partial dealumination and final hydrothermal synthesis. The raw clay was refined using sedimentation technique to recover 98 percent kaolin. Both conventional and novel methods of metakaolinization technique were used to convert kaolin into the reactive metastable phase. Amorphous metakaolin was obtained at a temperature of 850oC at residence time of 6 hours. The percentage of the alumina in the metakaolin was reduced through reaction with sulphuric acid to give Silica/Alumina molar ratio of 4.7 after ageing for between seven and nine days. The unique procedure of gel formation and Crystallization to NaY zeolite was achieved after 24hours at 100oC. The NaY zeolite was modified by ion exchange process to give a more acidic zeolite HY with improved Bronsted active acid sites. The synthesised Zeolite HY was characterized and confirmed through the XRD pattern and the silica/alumina ratio of about 3.62 using XRF, the results were corroborated with the analytical results from both SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) and BET (Brunauer, Emmet and Teller). The activity of the synthesised zeolite Y was confirmed. It compared favourably to the market commercial brand through its very similar conversion in the cracking reactions of cyclohexane and Gas Oil to lighter products when tested in NNPC Kaduna Refinery Laboratory

Synthesis of Zeolite Y from Kaolin Using Novel Method of Dealumination

In this study Zeolite Y was successfully synthesized from local kaolin in Ado-0do Ota, Ogun state Nigeria through a novel process of dealumination. The thermal activation of kaolin was achieved through the process of metakaolinization at 850 oC for 6 hours in a furnace and dealumination with H2SO4 in order to achieve a desire silica/alumina molar ratio between 3 and 8. Zeolitization involved alkaline attack of dealuminated metakaolin and its consequent transformation into Zeolite Y crystal. Silica/Alumina molar ratio of 5.84 of metakaolin was synthesized under hydrothermal treatment with aqueous NaOH at atmospheric pressure. It was then aged for 7 days at room temperature and crystallized at 100 oC for 24 hours; Zeolite NaY of molar ratio of 3.46 was achieved and then modified to its hydrogen form by ion exchange with NH4Cl. The molar ratio of Zeolite Y in hydrogen form is 3.22. The samples were characterized with X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The result showed that zeolite Y was synthesized from Arobieye mined kaolin with a molar ratio of 6SiO2 : Al2O3 : 9Na2O : 24H2O by ageing at room temperature for 24 hours and crystallized at 100 oC for 24 hours

Proposed Model for the Determination of Biodiesel Cetane Number

Emphasis on the biodiesel yield from the trans-esterification of waste oils should not only be of interest, but the production of high quality biodiesel should be of greater concern.Factors that determine quality of biodiesel are the production process(es) and biodiesel properties. High quality biodiesel must have cetane number (CN) that falls within the specifications of America Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and/or European Committee for Standardisation (EN). CN is a measure of auto ignition quality of a fuel; the higher the cetane number, the shorter the delay interval and the greater is its combustibility. In this research work, conditions for the production of high yields of biodiesel from the trans-esterification of Waste Soyabean Oil (WSO) and proposed model for the determination of biodiesel cetane number were established. The results of biodiesel yields obtained from the WSO trans-esterification showed that biodiesel yield was favoured at methanol/oil mole ratio of 6, NaOH catalyst concentration of 0.7 w/w oil, reaction temperature of 55 0C and reaction time of 90 minutes. Proposed biodiesel cetane number model obtained was validated. The statistical analysis yielded pearson correlation of 0.824 between the calculated cetane number using the proposed model and the experimentally reportedcetane number; p-value of 0.086. Interestingly, percentage average absolute deviation (% AAD) obtained for the calculated cetane numberand cetane number reported by Ramirez-Verduscoet. al. (2012), when compared to experimentally reported cetane number, generated the same result of 3.28 %

Data on CaO and eggshell catalysts used for biodiesel production

This researchinvestigatedtheproductionofbiodieselfromsoy- bean oil(transesterification process)usingpurecalciumoxideand calcium oxideobtainedfromeggshellasheterogeneouscatalysts. Uncalcinedeggshellandcalcinedeggshellcatalystsproducedwere analysedusingXRFandXRDspectrometers.Theprocessingpara- meters consideredduringthetransesterification ofthesoybean weremethanol/oilmoleratio,catalystconcentrationandreaction time andtheireffectsonbiodieselyieldwereevaluated.Reaction temperatureof60 °C andstirringrateof450rpm(revolutionper minute) werekeptconstant.Asaresultofcalcination,XRFanalysis revealedanincreaseinCaOpercentagecompositionofeggshell catalystfrom96%to97%.Also,thebiodieselyieldsobtained revealedsimilarperformancepatternsforboththecalcinedegg- shell catalystandthepureCaOcatalys

Comparative Analysis of Zeolite Y From Nigerian Clay and Standard Grade

Zeolite Y catalyst with silica/alumina mola•· ntio of 4.70 was synthesized from Elefun (Nigel"ia) clay unde•· hydwthe•·mal tJ·eatment of calcined kaolin with aqueous NaOH at atmosphel"ic p•·essm·e. This pape•· descl"ibed the p•·epantion of zeolite Y catalyst fmm metakaolin of quality Elefun kaolin by ageing at 34oC fo•· 7days, and then n·ystallized at lOOoC fm· 24 hom·s. The synthesized zeolite NaY was modified by exchanging with NH4Cl to obtain its hydwgen fo•·m with silica/alumina ntio of 3.18. Both developed and standa1·d zeolite Y catalyst we1·e then chanctel"ized by a val"iety of physicochemical methods, including XRD, XRF spectwscope. The mm·phologies we1·e examined using SEM. Similar results we1·e obtained, thus confi•·ming the synthesis of zeolite Y

Data on artificial neural network and response surface methodology analysis of biodiesel production

The biodiesel production from waste soybean oil (using NaOH and KOH catalysts independently) was investigated in this study. The use of optimization tools (artificial neural network, ANN, and response surface methodology, RSM) for the modelling of the relationship between biodiesel yield and process parameters was carried out. The variables em- ployed in the experimental design of biodiesel yields were methanol-oil mole ratio (6 –12), catalyst concentration (0.7 –1.7 wt/wt%), reaction temperature (48 –62 °C) and reaction time (50 –90 min). Also, the usefulness of both the RSM and ANN tools in the accurate prediction of the regression mod- els were revealed, with values of R-sq being 0.93 and 0.98 for RSM and ANN respectively

Preparation and characterization of activated carbon from plantain peel and coconut shell using biological activators

A concern over the toxicity of chemicals used during the activation stage in the preparation of activated carbon is beginning to gain attention. The study therefore looked into the possibility of using bio-activators (lemon juice and potash leached from the peel of unripe plantain) as activating chemicals, for environmentally friendly activated carbon. Coconut shell and the peel from unripe plantain were used as feedstock and pyrolyzed at 400 and 450 0c. An impregnation ratio of 0.25:1 was used while laboratory grade potassium hydroxide was used as a base activating agent as a control setup. Characterization of the activated carbon was carried out using parameters like bulk density and yield which were obtained using standard procedures. Results showed that activating carbon using bio-activators as activating agents had very good characteristics when compared with the control. Bio-activators are therefore recommended for the production of bio based activated carbon especially in the fields of medicine, food and pharmaceuticals. The effect of carbonization temperature on adsorption efficiency and pore structure were investigated using methylene blue as adsorbate and SEM respectively

Production of Biodiesel from Soybean Oil Using Calcium Oxide and Cow Bone as Catalysts

Biodiesel was produced from the transesterification of soybean oil using calcium oxide and cow bone (an animal waste bone that contains hydroxyapatite, a calcium phosphate mineral) as heterogeneous catalysts. The soybean oil used was characterized using gas chromatography mass spectrometer (GCMS) and the cow bone catalyst produced was characterized using X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer. The effects of the variation of methanol/oil mole ratio (9–15), catalyst concentration (10–20 wt/wt%) and reaction temperature (55–65 °C) on biodiesel yield during the transesterification of soybean oil with methanol was investigated. Reaction time of 3 hours and stirring rate of 500 rpm were kept constant. It was observed that the calcination of cow bone catalyst (at 800 °C) enhanced its conversion to apatite [Ca5(PO4)3OH] and increased the yield of biodiesel obtained. Biodiesel yield results revealed an optimum condition of methanol/oil mole ratio of 9, catalyst concentration of 15 wt/wt% and reaction temperature of 55 °C. Also, the results obtained showed that the performance trends of the two catalysts used were similar. And the close values of highest biodiesel yields obtained when the two heterogenous catalysts were used separately (yields of 94.8 and 92.2% using calcium oxide and calcined cow bone catalysts respectively) implies that the use of low-cost and readily available calcined cow bone catalyst is a promising alternative to CaO catalyst

Assessment of KOH and NaOH Catalysed Biodiesel from Melon Seed Oil

In this study, the comparative analysis of KOH and NaOH catalysts (used separately and combined in equal proportion) during the trans-esterification of melon seed oil was investigated. The major effects and interactions of four variables (methanol/oil mole ratio, catalyst concentration, reaction temperature and reaction time) on the yield of biodiesel were studied. The results showed that, under the same experimental conditions, KOH catalyzed trans-esterification produced the highest biodiesel yield, followed by NaOH catalyzed process and then trans-esterification process involving a mixture of the two catalysts (in equal proportion). KOH catalysed process gave optimum conditions of 6.11 methanol/oil mole ratio, KOH concentration of 1.20 w/w% Oil, reaction temperature of 50 _C, reaction time of 83 minutes and optimum yield of 80.7%. NaOH catalysed process gave optimum conditions of 6.20 methanol/oil mole ratio, NaOH concentration of 1.19 w/w% Oil, reaction temperature of 52 _C, reaction time of 83 minutes and optimum yield of 77.9%. While the process involving the mixture of the two catalysts gave optimum conditions of 6.08 methanol/oil mole ratio, catalyst concentration of 1.05 w/w% Oil, reaction temperature of 56 _C, reaction time of 85 minutes and optimum yield of 76.2%. Material balance carried out on the three categories of analysis favoured KOH trans-esterification process and the suitability of the biodiesel yield models obtained in these three categories was justified by high R2 values of 0.9489, 0.9631 and 0.9605 respectively

ASSESSMENT OF THE POTENTIAL EMISSIONSFROM BIODIESEL PRODUCED FROM GROUNDNUT AND SOYBEAN OILS

Biodiesel an alternative fuel to fossil fuel) does not only require production at commercial level, but the production process also needs to be a clean and environmental friendly. This research aim at assessing the potential emissions form the biodiesel produced from the trans-esterification of groundnut oil and soybean oil, using KOH homogenous catalyst. The impact assessment of the potential emissions wasanalysed, quantified and characterized using Simapro 8.2.3.0. Comparatively, soybean biodiesel produced higher yield of biodiesel compare to yield obtained from groundnut oil biodiesel, under same experimental conditions. Also, high yields of biodiesel observed (97.1 % using both soybean oil and 92.1 % using groundnut oil) were at experimental conditions of 52.5oC and catalyst concentration 0.9 wt/wt%, at constant methanol/oil mole ratio of 6 and reaction time of 1 hour. The impact assessment of the emissions from the biodiesels obtained from the two oils revealed that groundnut oil biodiesel has the potential to release more fresh water toxic substances, terrestrial toxic substances and human toxic substances