Synthesis of Biodiesel from Ricinus communis L. Seed Oil, a Promising Non-Edible Feedstock Using Calcium Oxide Nanoparticles as a Catalyst

This work aimed to synthesize biodiesel from Ricinus communis L., using calcium oxide (CaO) nanoparticles as a catalyst. The CaO nanoparticles were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The physico-chemical properties of biodiesel were studied through H and C-NMR, GC-MS, FT-IR, and fuel properties were studied according to ASTM and EN standard methods. The oil content of the feedstock was 53.7% with a free fatty acid (FFA) content of 0.89 mg KOH/g. The suitable condition for the optimum yield (89%) of biodiesel was 1:15 of oil to methanol using 20 mg of catalyst at a temperature of 60 °C for 80 to 100 min of reaction time. The H and C-NMR confirm the biodiesel synthesis by showing important peaks at 3.661, 2.015–2.788, 24.83–34.16 and 174.26 and 130.15 ppm. Similarly, GC-MS spectroscopy confirmed 18 different types of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) in the biodiesel sample. FT-IR spectroscopy confirmed the synthesis of biodiesel by showing characteristic peaks of biodiesel formation in the range of 1725–1750 cm−1 and 1000–1300 cm−1. The fuel properties were compared with the international ASTM and EN standards. The physico-chemical properties confirm that RCB is both an engine and environmentally friendly fuel

Hydrogen production via catalytic methane decomposition over alumina supported iron catalyst

In this paper, iron-based catalysts, calcined at different temperatures (300–800 °C), supported over alumina, were investigated for hydrogen production via catalytic methane decomposition. The catalysts were prepared by using different methods such as impregnation and co-precipitation. The fresh and spent catalysts were characterized using different techniques such as Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET), temperature-programmed reduction by hydrogen (H2-TPR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetry analysis (TGA), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Results revealed that for both impregnated and co-precipitated catalysts, calcination temperature of 500 °C is optimal. Type of precursor iron oxide on the alumina support has a strong influence on its performance for methane decomposition

Mechanistic investigation of methane steam reforming over Ce-promoted Ni/SBA-15 catalyst

Methane steam reforming experiments were carried out at atmospheric pressure for temperatures between 873 and 1073 K and by varying the partial pressure of methane and steam to achieve S:C between 0.5 and 2.5. Mechanistic considerations for Methane steam reforming (MSR) were derived on the basis of Langmuir–Hinshelwood and Eley–Rideal reaction mechanisms based on single- and dual-site associative and dissociative adsorption of one or both reactants. However, discrimination of these models on statistical and thermodynamic grounds revealed that the model representing a single-site dissociative adsorption of methane and steam most adequately explained the data. However, the product formation rates from these experiments were reasonably captured by power-law model. The parameter estimates from the power-law model revealed an order of 0.94 with respect to methane and -0.16 for steam with activation energy of 49.8 kJ mol-1 for MSR. The negative order with respect to steam for methane consumption was likely due to steam inhibition