Biodiesel production from Palm oil using calcined waste animal bone as catalyst

Waste animal bones was employed as a cost effective catalyst for the transesterification of palm oil. The catalyst was calcined at different temperatures to transform the calcium phosphate in the bones to hydroxyapatite and 800 degrees C was found to give the best yield of biodiesel. The catalyst was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR). Under the optimal reaction conditions of 20 wt.% of catalyst, 1:18 oil to methanol molar ratio, 200 rpm of stirring of reactants and at a temperature of 65 degrees C, the methyl ester conversion was 96.78% and it was achieved in 4 h. The catalyst performed equally well as the laboratory-grade CaO. Animal bone is therefore a useful raw material for the production of a cheap catalyst for transesterification. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.