Production of Biodiesel from Waste Cooking Oil via Deoxygenation Using Ni-Mo/Ac Catalyst

Waste cooking oil (WCO) from palm oil is one of the most prospective biodiesel feedstock when compared to other oil seeds. Thus, WCO has great potential as a green source of diesel fuel for engines in motor vehicles and machinery. This project aimed to study the potential of three randomly selected types of WCO, namely; sample A (used 1x once to fry an egg), sample B (used 3-5x to fry salted fish), and sample C (used repeatedly to fry banana fritter) for the production of green diesel fuel over Ni-Mo/AC (nickel and molybdenum oxides incorporated with activated carbon) catalyst through the deoxygenation (DO) process. The prepared catalyst was characterized through X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The DO process was performed at 350 degrees C to remove oxygen from the WCO samples. The liquid products were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) and gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID), to measure the yields of straight-chain hydrocarbons and fractions in the range C-8-C-20. Results showed that the highest n-(C-8-C-20) hydrocarbon fractions were produced in the order of sample B (89.93%) > C (88.84%) > A (82.81%).

Automated summary

This study aimed to investigate the potential of waste cooking oil as a green source of diesel fuel through the deoxygenation process using a Ni-Mo/AC catalyst. The results showed that sample B produced the highest yields of n-(C-8-C-20) hydrocarbon fractions.