Onwuma Chimyenum Nkemdinum

The components of bio-waste are particularly abundant in essential minerals like calcium and potassium, which are essential for the manufacture of effective biocatalysts for biodiesel. This study evaluated the potential of bio-based heterogeneous catalyst of fused cockle shells and watermelon peels for the transesterification of waste vegetable oil. At 900°C and 500℃, the waste materials were dried, calcined, and carbonized, respectively. In order to evaluate the compositional, morphological, structural, and thermal features of both the catalyst and the precursor materials, they were both characterized. The Box-Behnken design was utilized to generate 29 experimental runs to examine the impact of operational parameters such catalyst loading, temperature, methanol-to-oil molar ratio, and reaction time. The presence of basic (calcium and potassium) and acidic oxides (silicon and nickel) demonstrated that the catalyst was bifunctional. The catalyst's surface area (105.35 m2 /g) and pore volume (0.60 cm3 /g) obtained from the BET analysis contributed to a 91.77% biodiesel yield at 63.34 °C reaction temperature, 149.41 min reaction time, 1.05wt% catalyst loading, and a 14.45:1 methanol to oil ratio. The physicochemical parameters of the biodiesel produced were measured and determined to be acceptable according to the European National (EN) and American Society for Testing of Materials (ASTM) quality standards, demonstrating the product's suitability for use as fuel.

The components of bio-waste are particularly abundant in essential minerals like calcium and potassium, which are essential for the manufacture of effective biocatalysts for biodiesel. This study evaluated the potential of bio-based heterogeneous catalyst of fused cockle shells and watermelon peels for the transesterification of waste vegetable oil. At 900°C and 500℃, the waste materials were dried, calcined, and carbonized, respectively. In order to evaluate the compositional, morphological, structural, and thermal features of both the catalyst and the precursor materials, they were both characterized. The Box-Behnken design was utilized to generate 29 experimental runs to examine the impact of operational parameters such catalyst loading, temperature, methanol-to-oil molar ratio, and reaction time. The presence of basic (calcium and potassium) and acidic oxides (silicon and nickel) demonstrated that the catalyst was bi-functional. The catalyst's surface area (105.35 m2/g) and pore volume (0.60 cm3/g) obtained from the BET analysis contributed to a 91.77% biodiesel yield at 63.34 °C reaction temperature, 149.41 min reaction time, 1.05wt% catalyst loading, and a 14.45:1 methanol to oil ratio. The physicochemical parameters of the biodiesel produced were measured and determined to be acceptable according to the European National (EN) and American Society for Testing of Materials (ASTM) quality standards, demonstrating the product's suitability for use as fuel