Catalytic Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAMEs) Synthesis Using Lepidium aucheri Seed Oil and Its Antibacterial Potential

Abstract

One of the best renewable energy sources that can replace petroleum fuel is biodiesel, which may be produced through catalytic transesterification. However, there is a risk that some of these plant-based biofuels may actually promote bacterial colonies while damaging the methyl esters that are synthesised. The present study aimed to assess the cadmium oxide (CdO) nanocatalyst in the catalytic transesterification of Lepidium aucheri seed oil into fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) as a source of Biodiesel and the potential of the seed oil against bacterial activities as possible source of bio-additive for biofuels. For biodiesel synthesis, a cadmium oxide (CdO) nanocatalyst was synthesised and characterised via SEM, FT-IR, and EDX. The biodiesel yield using the CdO catalyst was 88% when the reaction was carried out for 2 h at 75 °C with an ideal mixture of 12:1 oil to methanol molar ratio and a catalyst concentration of 2% utilising LASO. The antibacterial activity of two bacterial strains (Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis) was investigated via the agar well diffusion method. The maximum antibacterial activity was observed with 100 µl of LASO, which inhibited Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli, resulting in a 24.7 mm inhibition zone. It was also put to use in the biodiesel synthesis process, trans-esterifying nonedible LASO into methyl esters for the synthesis of Biodiesel. The synthesised biodiesel was subjected to analyses via GC‒MS, FT‒IR, and NMR. The investigation concluded that the biodiesel sector may be used the feedstock as a raw material at the commercial level.

Graphical Abstract