Green Fuel Production from Sunflower Oil Using Nanocatalysts Based on Metal Oxides (SrO, La2O3, CaO, MgO, Li 2O) Supported over Combustion-synthesized Mg-spinel

In this research a series of metal oxides (SrO, La2O3, CaO, MgO, and Li2O) were loaded over Mg-spinels via a hybrid combustion-impregnation method. Nanocatalysts were characterized by XRD, FESEM, TEM, EDX, BET-BJH, and FTIR analyses. The XRD results showed the formation of pure crystalline phases in all of the nanocatalysts. Among all the nanocatalysts, the FESEM images and BET-BJH data displayed large pore diameters and high specific surface area for Li2O/MgAl2O4. Also, the overview of 3D surface analysis demonstrated the rough surface for this nanocatalyst, in which the RMS parameter was evaluated to be 16.5 nm. The as-prepared nanocatalysts were successfully employed in green biodiesel production from sunflower oil (MeOH/Oil = 12 molar, catalyst loading = 5 wt%, temperature = 110 degrees C and time = 3 h). The superior activity of about 98% was obtained with Li2O/MgAl2O4. The other remarkable outcome of this research was the reusability of Li2O/ MgAl2O4 through 6 reaction cycles with fresh feed in the same operational conditions. (c) 2022 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, a series of metal oxide-loaded Mg-spinel nanocatalysts were synthesized and characterized. Among them, Li2O/MgAl2O4 showed good catalytic activity and reusability.