Potential of Ripe Plantain Fruit Peels as an Ecofriendly Catalyst for Biodiesel Synthesis: Optimization by Artificial Neural Network Integrated with Genetic Algorithm

Abstract

The present work was aimed at assessing the possible use of ripe plantain fruit peel as a green-base catalyst in synthesizing Azadirachta indica oil methyl esters (AIOME). The free fatty acid content of the oil (5.81 wt %) was initially reduced to 0.90 wt % using methanol: oil at 2.19 v/v, Fe 2 (SO 4 ) 3 at 6 wt %, time of 15 min and temperature of 65 • C. The pretreated oil was converted to AIOME in a transesterification process with calcined ripe plantain peel ash (CRPPA) at 700 • C as catalyst. The process was modeled by artificial neural network and optimized using genetic algorithm. The effectiveness of the developed CRPPA is ascribable to its high K content and microstructural transformation. The reliability of the model obtained was confirmed with a high coefficient of determination (R 2 ) of 0.996 and a low mean relative percentage deviation (MRPD) of 8.10%. The best operating variables combination for the process was methanol:oil of 0.73 v/v, CRPPA of 0.65 wt % and time of 57 min while the temperature was kept constant at 65 • C with a corresponding AIOME yield of 99.2 wt %. The results of this work demonstrated the potentials of ripe plantain peels and neem oil as cheap feedstocks for biodiesel production.

Effectiveness of biogenic waste‐derived heterogeneous catalysts and feedstock hybridization techniques in biodiesel production

“…The advantages of biomass waste‐ash derived catalyst over inorganic catalysts cannot be overemphasized: they are available in large quantities, renewable, available, simple and safe to develop, non‐toxic, they can be reused, they generate less wastewater, are environmentally friendly, and are cost‐effective. 41, 46 These wastes are sustainable and abundant in quantities just like other biomass waste materials such as animal bones, shells, and scales 73 .…”

“…In the same way, another study also reported the use of ripe plantain peels for an agro‐base catalyst; the peels were washed with distilled water three times, cut into pieces, oven dried at 80 °C for 24 h, and then burnt to produced ash. The ash was milled and sieved and was calcined at 700 °C for 4 h 41 . Chen et al 82 .…”

“…Table shows the calcination temperatures and time of various biogenic waste materials, with their elemental compositions. Agricultural organic wastes are reported to contain a large amount of compounds of carbon, oxygen, and metals such as potassium, sodium, calcium, and magnesium 39, 41 . During calcination at high temperatures, the carbon and oxygen content is reduced to produce metal oxides such as K 2 O, CaO, and MgO, as the major ingredients in the ash, which are the active base catalyst for biodiesel production.…”

“…For instance, in their study using banana peels, raw powdered peels, burnt powdered peels, and calcined peels, which were analyzed, it was observed that some special characteristics of the ash were only prominent in the calcined ash and the progressive increase of the potassium compound was due to calcination. The effect of the calcination temperature was also observed in an experiment carried out by Etim et al 41 . using a plantain peel heterogeneous base catalyst to trans‐esterify neem seed oil at different temperatures (500 °C–1100 °C) over a constant period of time.…”

“…There is abundantly available waste everywhere: domestically, in municipalities, in industry, and the natural environment, and many more sources are yet to be discovered. The most studied wastes include banana peels, 39 coco‐pod husk, 14, 17 plantain peels, 40, 41 oil palm trunk, coconut husk, 42 coconut shell, 43 sugarcane bagasse, wood ash, 44 Lemna perpusilla Torrey, 45 rubber seed shell, 46 palm kernel shell, 47 banana peduncle, 48 Enterolobium cyclocarpum pod husk, 49 kola nut pod husk, 50 and tucuma peels 51 …”