Transesterification
of Low-Quality Triglycerides over
a Zn/CaO Heterogeneous Catalyst: Kinetics and Reusability Studies
- Publication date
- Publisher
Abstract
Zinc-doped (0.25–7 wt %) calcium
oxide (Zn/CaO) has been
prepared in nanocrystalline form by a simple wet chemical method followed
by calcination up to 950 °C. The structural analysis has been
investigated by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), whereas the surface
morphology and average particle size of Zn/CaO were determined by
scanning electron and transmission electron microscopic studies, respectively.
The catalytic activity of the prepared Zn/CaO toward the transesterification
of cotton seed oil with methanol was found to be a function of its
calcination temperature, crystallite size, and basic strength. A pseudo-first-order
kinetic model was applied to evaluate the kinetic parameters for the
transesterification of waste cotton seed oil with methanol, and a
first-order rate constant (<i>k</i>) and activation energy
(<i>E</i><sub>a</sub>) were found to be 0.10 min<sup>–1</sup> and 43 kJ mol<sup>–1</sup>, respectively. The catalyst, Zn/CaO,
was amenable to recovery and recycling for at least five consecutive
reaction cycles. The Koros–Nowak criterion test has been employed
to demonstrate that measured catalytic activity was independent of
the influence of transport phenomenon. Further, Zn/CaO was also found
as an efficient catalyst for the complete transesterification of a
variety of triglycerides (having up to 8.4 wt % free fatty acids),
such as virgin cotton seed oil, soybean oil, waste cotton seed oil,
castor oil, karanja oil, jatropha oil, and mutton fat. Thus, the present
work demonstrates the application of high free fatty acid containing
waste or non-edible oils as feedstock, without any pre-treatment,
for biodiesel production