Synthesis of Magnetic Catalyst Derived from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch for Esterification of Oleic Acid: An Optimization Study

Biomass, renewable, abundantly available and a good source of energy. The conversion of biomass waste into valuable products has received wide attention. In this study, an empty fruit bunch (oil palm EFB) supported magnetic acid catalyst for esterification reaction was successfully prepared via the one-step impregnation process. The new magnetic catalyst achieved a higher surface area of 188.87 m2/g with a total acidity of 2.4 mmol/g and identified iron oxide as g-Fe2O3. The magnetization value of 24.97 emu/g demonstrated that the superparamagnetic catalyst could be easily recovered and separated after the reaction using an external magnet. The catalytic performance of oil palm EFB supported magnetic acid catalyst was examined by esterification of oleic acid. Esterification process parameters were optimized via Response Surface Methodology (RSM) optimization tool with Box-Behnken design (BBD). The following optimum parameters were determined: an amount of 9 wt% catalyst, molar ratio of methanol to oleic acid of 12:1, reaction time of 2 h and reaction temperature of 60 °C with a maximum conversion of 94.91% was achieved. The catalyst can be recycled up to five cycles with minimal loss in its activity. The oil palm waste-based magnetic acid catalyst indicates its potential replacement to the existing solid catalysts that are economical and environmentally friendly for the esterification process in biofuel applications. Copyright © 2021 by Authors, Published by BCREC Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).

Direct production of biodiesel from high-acid value Jatropha oil with solid acid catalyst derived from lignin

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Solid acid catalyst was prepared from Kraft lignin by chemical activation with phosphoric acid, pyrolysis and sulfuric acid. This catalyst had high acid density as characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometry (EDX) and Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) method analyses. It was further used to catalyze the esterification of oleic acid and one-step conversion of non-pretreated <it>Jatropha </it>oil to biodiesel. The effects of catalyst loading, reaction temperature and oil-to-methanol molar ratio, on the catalytic activity of the esterification were investigated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The highest catalytic activity was achieved with a 96.1% esterification rate, and the catalyst can be reused three times with little deactivation under optimized conditions. Biodiesel production from <it>Jatropha </it>oil was studied under such conditions. It was found that 96.3% biodiesel yield from non-pretreated <it>Jatropha </it>oil with high-acid value (12.7 mg KOH/g) could be achieved.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The catalyst can be easily separated for reuse. This single-step process could be a potential route for biodiesel production from high-acid value oil by simplifying the procedure and reducing costs.</p

Synthesis of Carbide Lime Waste Derived Base Catalyst (KF/CLW-Fe3O4) for Methyl Ester Production: An Optimization Study

In this paper, solid base catalyst KF/CLW-Fe3O4 was prepared from carbide lime waste, primarily calcium hydroxide with tiny amounts of carbonate and; the catalyst was used in the optimization study on the methyl ester production. The new strong base catalyst was synthesized by chemical impregnation. This catalyst was characterized by Hammett indicator analysis, Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) of carbon dioxide. The catalyst was further used to catalyzed the transesterification reaction to produce methyl ester. Taguchi method was used to assess the impact of catalyst at different intervals of reaction parameters, including reaction time, methanol to oil ratio, and catalyst loading. A mixed level of orthogonal array design with L9, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and signal to noise ratio were used to determine parameters that significantly impact the palm oil transesterification reaction. High methyl ester conversion was attained, and the catalyst can be easily separated and reused. KF/CLW-Fe3O4 has great potential to be used to produce methyl ester because of its high catalytic activity and environmental friendliness. Copyright © 2021 by Authors, Published by BCREC Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).

Chemical and thermal properties of purified kenaf core and oil palm empty fruit bunch lignin

Chemical and thermal properties of pure lignin are depending on the plant origin, extraction method and type of lignocellulosic. In this study, lignin from oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) and kenaf core were recovered from soda black liquor by two steps of acid precipitation with hydrochloric acid and followed by soxhlet with n-hexane. The XRD analysis of purified EFB lignin (EAL) and purified kenaf core lignin (KAL) exhibited amorphous properties, similar to the standard alkali lignin (SAL). The FTIR and Raman spectra showed that all samples consist of HGS unit. In FTIR, the syringyl unit is assigned at (1125 cm-1), (1327 and 1121 cm-1) and (1326 and 1117 cm-1) meanwhile the guaicyl unit is assigned at (1263, 1212 and 1028 cm-1), (1271, 1217 and 1028 cm-1) and (1270, 1211 and 1030 cm-1) for SAL, EAL and KAL, respectively. The peak around 1160 cm-1 represents C-O stretching of conjugated ester group present in HGS lignin. As for Raman, the HGS unit exists in the range of 1100-1400 cm-1. Among the purified samples, the TGA result showed that KAL has a better thermal stability with the residue of 36.49% and higher Tg value which is 152.69°C

Preparation of transition metal sulfide nanoparticles via hydrothermal route

Nano sized copper sulfide, iron sulfide and molybdenum sulfide were successfully synthesised via a simple hydrothermal method. Sodium thiosulfate pentahydrate (Na2S2O3¥5H2O) and hydroxylamine sulfate ((H3NO)2¥H2SO4) were used as the starting materials and reacted with the transition metal source at 200oC for 90 min. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Spherical shape CuS and FeS2 nanoparticles with high crystallinity were successfully produced. The transmission electron micrographs revealed the well-dispersibility of the produced nanoparticles. Scanning electron micrograph showed the MoS2 nanoparticles possessed a spherical shape with sheet-like structure covering on the outer surface of the particles

Effect of stored oil palm trunk sap towards methyl ester synthesis / Nurnuha Shamsir... [et al.]

Oil palm trunk (OPT) has highest content of sap, 80% of the overall weight. OPT sap contains free sugars which can be converted into valuable compounds such as ester. The objective of this study is to determine the changes of free sugars at different storage time and the effect on methyl ester synthesis. The sap was extracted and stored at different durations time (1, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days). 10ml of dried sap was added with 100mg Fe2(SO4)3 EFB and 15ml of methanol. The mixture was put into the autoclave to be heated at 160 oC for 150 minutes. Free sugars found in OPT sap were glucose, fructose and sucrose. The free sugars vary upon the storage time and highest concentration of glucose and fructose achieved at day 21. This is due to hydrolysis of sucrose. The GC-MS analysis identified and quantified several methyl ester such as methyl pyruvate, methyl levulinate, methyl-9- oxononanoate and methyl palmitate. These findings confirmed that the free sugars from OPT sap were possible to be an alternative carbon in ester synthesi

Effect of fibre surface modification on properties of kenaf/poly(vinyl alcohol) composite film

Kenaf/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) composite films having 5, 10, 15% wt% of fibre loadings were pre-pared via aqueous mixing. The mixture was casted as composite film and it was characterized. Tensile properties, Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) and morphology analyses were reported. The effect of fibre surface modification on the properties of composite film was investigated in the study. The result of citric acid modification was much better than the traditional mercerization of fibres via sodium hydroxide solution. The biodegradability of the composite films was evaluated by soil burial test. The soil burial test revealed that the modified Kenaf/PVA composite film was biodegradable in nature environment. It achieved the highest ∼ 8.91% reduction after 15 days buried under soil and exposed to environmental condition

Mechanical properties of soil buried kenaf fibre reinforced thermoplastic polyurethane composites

A study on mechanical properties of soil buried kenaf fibre reinforced thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) composites is presented in this paper. Kenaf bast fibre reinforced TPU composites were prepared via melt-mixing method using Haake Polydrive R600 internal mixer. The composites with 30% fibre loading were prepared based on some important parameters; i.e. 190 °C for reaction temperature, 11 min for reaction time and 400 rpm for rotating speed. The composites were subjected to soil burial tests where the purpose of these tests was to study the effect of moisture absorption on the mechanical properties of the composites. Tensile and flexural properties of the composites were determined before and after the soil burial tests for 20, 40, 60 and 80 days. The percentages of both moisture uptake and weight gain after soil burial tests were recorded. Tensile strength of kenaf fibre reinforced TPU composite dropped to ∼16.14 MPa after 80 days of soil burial test. It was also observed that there was no significant change in flexural properties of soil buried kenaf fibre reinforced TPU composite specimens

Nano Transition Metal Sulfide Catalyst for Solvolysis Liquefaction Soda Lignin

Solvolysis liquefaction of soda lignin in the presence of various transition metal sulfide catalysts was studied to investigate the catalyst effects on the oil and gas yields, conversion rate and higher heating value (HHV) of oil. Nanosized copper sulfide, iron sulfide and molybdenum sulfide were successfully synthesized via a simple hydrothermal method under reaction temperature 200°C for 90 min. The addition of transition metal sulfide based catalysts (CuS, MoS2 and FeS2) enhanced both production of the oils and gas and the higher heating value (HHV) of oil products. A high oil and gas yields of 82.1% and 2890 cm3 was obtained with MoS2 at 250°C for 60 min. Elemental analyses for the oils revealed that the liquid products have much higher heating values than the crude soda lignin powder