Conversion of Karanja oil to biodiesel using modified heterogeneous base catalyst

In the recent times, biodiesel production from various non-edible oil sources has received a lot of attention. Karanja oil is chosen mainly due to its availability and low cost. It is a nitrogen fixing tree cultivated to enhance soil quality. Transesterification of Karanja oil to biodiesel using a basic solid modified heterogeneous catalyst has been discussed in the present study. Aluminum nitrate Al(NO3)(3) impregnated on calcined marble (Al(NO3)(3)/calcined marble), prepared by wet impregnation method (25%), is used as a modified heterogeneous base catalyst. Surface morphology of the synthesized catalyst is determined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) analyzer and the composition of various elements present in the prepared catalyst is analyzed using energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS analyzer). 67.56 (wt/wt) of calcium oxide (CaO) is observed for calcined marble and 78.19 (wt/wt %) of CaO has been noticed for impregnated catalyst (Al(NO3)(3)/calcined marble). A maximum biodiesel yield of 96.5% and a conversion of 97.43% was obtained at an optimum methanol:oil molar ratio of 9:1 (mol/mol), 4 (wt %) of catalyst concentration and 1.5 (h) reaction time respectively. The entire composition of formed biodiesel is determined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyzer and conversion of Karanja oil to biodiesel is measured using H-1-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyzer.

Automated summary

In this study, a modified heterogeneous base catalyst Al(NO3)(3)/calcined marble was used to successfully convert Karanja oil to biodiesel through transesterification, achieving high yields and conversion rates under optimal conditions.