Preparation of sulfated zirconia catalyst loaded by copper in nano-scale Green application to synthesis of biolubricant

Abstract

T HIS STUDY investigates the activity of copper-doped catalysts supported on sulfated zirconia (SZ) for the esterification of Free Fatty Acid (FFA). Three catalysts SZ, Cu/SZ (sol) and Cu/SZ (imp) were prepared. The latter two catalysts contain 10% Cu supported on sulfated zirconia (Cu/SZ) prepared by wet impregnation (Cu/SZ/ (imp)) and sol-gel method (Cu/SZ/ (sol)). The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), NH 3 Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD), N 2 adsorption, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and imaged by scanning electron microscopy. The XRD analysis showed that, the loading of Cu in the zirconia structure has stabilized the tetragonal zirconia phase, which is the most active phase. Also, the formation of Cu 2 O and (CuO-ZrO) composite has been proved for the sol-gel preparation technique. The TPD illustrated that the incorporation of Cu ions in the lattice of zirconia via sol-gel technique has lowered the acidity of the catalyst much more than impregnation technique. As a green application, different concentrations of the prepared catalysts were used for preparation of biolubricants by direct esterification of FFAs. The Cu/ SZ/ (sol) catalyst has the highest activity. The percentage yields of synthesized biolubricants reached 99.8% when 0.3 % from the selected catalyst was utilized. Pour point, Flash point, Viscosity index, Apparent Viscosity and Percentage yield values of synthetic ester oils were evaluated.

Synthesis and Characterization of Yttrium Oxide, Copper Oxide and Barium Carbonate Nanoparticles Using Azadirachta Indica (the Neem Tree) Fruit Aqueous Extract

“…Synthesis of Nanoparticle (NPs) has gained an emerging interest as a result of their superior properties and potential applications in almost every field such as catalysis [1,2], magnetic [3], antimicrobial activity [4], sensors and others. Moreover, thermal, catalytic and mechanical characteristics of a material are altered as surface to volume ratio increases [1,5].…”