Application of CaO-based/Au nanoparticles as heterogeneous nanocatalysts in biodiesel production

In this work, five different types of calcium oxide-based catalysts supported gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) (named as nanocatalyst), including commercial CaO, egg shell, mussel shell, calcite, and dolomite were prepared and used in biodiesel synthesis. The optimal conditions of transesterification process were observed at 65 degrees C with a methanol to oil molar ratio of 9:1, a reaction time of 3 h and a catalyst loading of 3%. Under optimum conditions, the oil conversion was in the range of 90-97% and the glycerol amount was from 3.9 to 4.3 (mg/kg) for all samples. Gas chromatographic analysis showed that a high quality biodiesel product was synthesized using supported AuNPs catalysts in comparison with conventional CaO catalysts. Reusability results showed that all prepared nanocatalysts were able to be reemployed up to 10 times without loss of activity. It was found that CaO-AuNPs nanocatalysts prepared by impregnation method rendered them the higher catalytic activity. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.