Title:Photoesterification of Waste Cooking Oil using ZnO Doped Empty
Fruit Bunches Ash Heterogeneous Catalyst
Volume: 17
Issue: 2
Author(s): Norshahidatul Akmar Mohd Shohaimi*, Norshahiera Khairul Adnan and Siti Fadhilah Ibrahim
Affiliation:
- Department of chemistry, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA Jengka Campus,
26400 Bandar Tun Abdul Razak Jengka, Pahang, Malaysia
- Advanced Biomaterials and Carbon
Development Research Group, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450
Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Keywords:
Photoesterification, catalyst, transesterification, fatty acid methyl ester, waste cooking oil, empty fruit bunches ash.
Abstract:
Introduction: Waste from the palm oil industry, such as empty fruit
bunch ash (EFBA) and palm oil mill effluents (POME), is a type of biomass created
during the production of palm oil and produced in vast quantities. Due to the massive
amounts of empty fruit bunch ash produced because of the exponential rise in
worldwide palm oil production, major plantations are having trouble disposing of
them.
Aim: The purpose of this research is to study the effectiveness of the ZnO-EFBA catalyst
under visible light irradiation for the photoesterification reaction and its physicochemical
properties of the photocatalyst that will be determined using TGA, SEMEDX,
XRD and BET.
Method: The biodiesel will be produced by using two steps which are photoesterification
to reduce the FFA value in WCO and followed by transesterification to produce
FAMEs. The photoesterification reactions were conducted using WCO under visible
light irradiation. Various parameters were examined, including different reaction times
of 1 to 4 hours, different methanol to oil molar ratios of 12:1, 14:1, 16:1, and 18:1, and
different ZnO-EFBA catalyst loadings ranging from 0 wt.% to 8 wt.%. The obtained
results demonstrated that each WCO sample has a different optimum condition in the
photoesterification reaction. Moreover, it was observed that lower FFA values correlated
with higher biodiesel conversion rates in the transesterification reaction with
79.06%, 77.72% and 73.33% for samples 1, 2 and 3, respectively.
Result: By using EFBA as a heterogeneous catalyst doped with ZnO in the manufacturing
of biodiesel, it helps to reduce the waste that the palm oil industry creates, limiting
the adverse effects on human health and environmental harm. Furthermore, biodiesel
is a renewable, clean-burning alternative to petroleum fuel, which is domestically
manufactured.
Conclusion: The use of biodiesel as a vehicle fuel boosts energy security, enhances
the environment and air quality, and offers safety advantages.
