Synthesis of fatty acid methyl esters from used vegetable oil using activated anthill as catalyst

Abstract

In this present study transesterification of used vegetable oil (UVO) using synthesized activated anthill as catalyst was investigated. The catalyst was prepared via calcination process, characterized by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) techniques. From the BET analysis; calcination temperature has a positive impact on the textural properties. The XRD shows that the catalyst is crystalline in nature. Fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) was produced using thermally activated anthill as catalyst. The optimal FAME yield of 94.85 % was obtained at Methanol/Oil (M/O) 9:1, catalyst loading 1.5 wt%, reaction temperature of 65 ᵒ𝑪 and reaction time of 2 h. The physico-chemical properties of UVO – FAME produced was found to be within the American Society for Testing and Methods (ASTM). Hence, the study reveals that used vegetable oil catalyzed by novel activated anthill could be an effective feedstock to produce sustainable energy.
 Keywords: Anthills, FAME, Central composite design, Heterogeneous, used vegetable oil.

OPTIMIZATION OF BIODIESEL PRODUCTION FROM WASTE VEGETABLE OIL USING Zr- OXIDE CATALYST ANCHORED ON CARBONIZED MATERIAL

“…Equation ( 2) describes the fitted second-order mathematical regression model. (Babatunde et al, 2020a;Betiku et al, 2019;Joseph, 2014).…”

“…Vegetable oil, animal oil/fats, tallow, and waste cooking oil can produce biodiesel. Transesterification is the chemical reaction used to convert these oils into biodiesel (Yildiz et al, 2015; Babatunde et al, 2020a). Oil crops such as rapeseed, palm, and soybean provide the largest possible source of suitable vegetable oil (Yildiz et al, 2015;Dhawane et al, 2017).…”

Response Surface Modelling and Optimization Study of Transesterification of Castor Oil Using Calcined Anthill as Catalyst

“…Biodiesel an alternative substitute for fossil fuel [1] has several advantages over its counterpart such as its biodegradability, low emission, low Sulphur and aromatic contents better lubricity and lots more [2]. However, its high cost of production has been a limiting factor for its commercialization in developing countries [2]. Biodiesel is a mixture of mono-alkyl esters derived from vegetable oils or animal fats [3].…”

“…This is because the based catalyzed reaction has been proven to give a higher yield than the acid catalyzed reaction, also it is faster that the acid catalyzed reaction and its reaction conditions are relatively mild when compared to the acid catalyzed reaction [1]. However, despite its many advantages, some major drawbacks to the use of homogeneous catalyst in the production of biodiesel is that it leads to the generation of effluents, [4,7], the FFA in the feedstock gets saponified by the homogeneous catalyst leading to excess soap formation and decrease in the biodiesel yield [2], difficulty in the reuse of catalyst and the high cost of production [7].…”

“…Several researchers have reported the transesterification of various feedstocks to biodiesel using either anthill or an anthill composites as catalyst. The various feedstock that was studies are edible oil such as Palm Olein, Chrysopyllum albidium seed Oil, vegetable oil, and Waste frying oil [2,4,7].…”