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In this study, a heterogeneous acid catalyst composed of 12-molybdophosphoric acid (H3PMo12O40.xH2O) anchored in titanium oxide (TiO2) was synthesized using the incipient-wetness method. The catalyst was characterized by acid–base titration method in order to determine surface acidity, thermogravimetric analysis, and x-ray diffraction, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersion x-ray spectroscopy. The catalyst was applied in transesterification reactions for biodiesel production from the waste cooking oil following a central composite design of centered face 23 and a statistical model was developed in order to describe the behavior of the ester content as a function of the independent variables temperature, alcohol:oil molar ratio, and catalyst dosage. The statistical model (R2 = 0.8943) was validated and showed a relative error below 3% between the experimental and predicted values. By means of linear regression methods and response surface methodology, the conditions of biodiesel synthesis reaction were optimized and 94.5% conversion into esters was obtained at 190 °C, alcohol:oil molar ratio of 90:1, and catalyst dosage of 5 wt. %. The univariate study of the reaction time showed that the reaction processed in 4 h presented the highest conversion in terms of ester content in the biodiesel produced. The proposed catalyst showed good catalytic activity up to the fourth reaction cycle, indicating its good development and application prospectus.

Ruminant energy supplementation with vegetable oils or fats has been standing out worldwide and oil palm processing has been receiving growing interest. This study assessed the effect of supplementation with saturated and unsaturated fatty acids from the palm oil industry on the lipid profile of seminal plasma and of the sperm membrane, as well as on the morphological and functional characteristics of raw and cryopreserved buffalo semen. Twelve purebred Murrah bulls ( Bubalus bubalis ) were assigned to the experimental groups and fed diets for 120 days with no added lipids (CONT, four bulls), or with an extra amount of 3% lipids from crude palm oil (PALM, four bulls), or from palm oil deodorizer distillate (PODD, four bulls). Semen was collected and cryopreserved every 15 days. The lipid composition of membranes and semen quality were determined after collections. Lipid supplementation did not impact feed intake (P>0.05). Diet enrichment with PALM increased the linoleic acid (C18:2,ω6) in seminal plasma. Lipid supplementation did not increase the polyunsaturated fatty acids in the sperm membrane composition, but significantly increased the lignoceric acid (C24:0). Cryopreserved semen of the supplemented bulls presented higher progressive motility (60.2 vs. 67.9 vs. 65.2%; P<0.05) and sperm viability detected by eosin-nigrosin staining (61.1 vs. 69.4 vs. 67.8%; P<0.05). Palm oil reduced major sperm defects in both raw (12.2 vs. 9.3 vs. 13.2%; P<0.0001) and cryopreserved semen (12.4 vs. 9.4 vs. 11.2%; P<0.0001). The lipids added to the diet did not impact the population of spermatozoa with intact plasma and acrosomal membranes (PI-/PSA-), but significantly increased the percentage of spermatozoa with high mitochondrial potential (25.6 vs. 31.5 vs. 32.0%; P=0.008). The results suggest that lipid supplementation based on crude palm oil or palm oil deodorizer distillate can be safely used to feed buffalo bulls and may increase sperm attributes related to male fertility.

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