Free Fatty Acids Esterification on Palm Oil Sludge using Zirconia-supported Indonesia Natural Zeolite as Heterogeneous Catalyst

Abstract

Biodiesel production has been attracted more intense study because of the growing interest in finding the alternative renewable energy resources. Commonly biodiesel production is produced using refined vegetable oils as feedstocks which catalyzed by a homogeneous catalyst. However, the homogeneous catalyst has many disadvantages such as complex products separation and environmentally problem. In this research, the esterification of Palm Oil Sludge (POS) using zirconia supported Indonesia natural zeolite as a heterogeneous catalyst was studied. The POS is low feedstock price and available abundantly. The catalysts were analyzed in term of porosity analysis (Gas Sorption Analysis method), XRD (X-Ray Diffraction), and FTIR (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy). The FFAs conversion as high as was 84.2% achieved at following reaction conditions: 2 h reaction time, 65°C reaction temperature, 1:10 POS to methanol mole ratio, and catalyst amount 10 wt. % of POS. The FFA conversion was decreased after three consecutive of esterification reaction.

Analysis of Esterification Research in Indonesia for 25 Years using Bibliometric Method

“…Therefore, PFAD can be used as an inexpensive raw material for biodiesel production through two processes, namely esterification and transesterification. Biodiesel can be synthesized by esterification reaction of Free Fatty Acid (FFA) in Palm Oil Sludge (POS) with alcohol to produce methyl ester and water [27]. According to Kumar et al (2018), Jatropha curcas L. oil with a high oleic acid content is appropriate for producing biodiesel while Jatropha curcas L. with linoleic acid as the primary fatty acid is appropriate for use in other industrial applications [28].…”

Biodiesel Synthesis from Coconut Oil Using Calcined Scallop Shell Waste as the Heterogeneous Catalysts

“…Several investigations on the efficiency of heterogeneous catalysts in biodiesel synthesis have been investigated for many years. As a result, numerous solid catalysts such as hydrotalcite [1], metal oxides [7,8], zeolites [9,10], alumina [11,12], clays [13,14], and biomass-based catalysts [15][16][17][18][19] have been investigated utilizing various raw materials. The goal of the research was to develop a heterogeneous catalyst with high catalytic activities for the biodiesel synthesis.…”

Impregnated Zeolite as Catalyst in Esterification Treatment from High Free Fatty Acids Palm Oil Mill Effluent

“…Heterogeneous catalysts usually consist of natural ingredients. Zeolite is a natural aluminosilicate which has a threedimensional structure that can form pores of uniform size (Hidayat and Sutrisno, 2018). Zeolite is widely used as a catalyst.…”