Moatasem Kamel, Leonardo Vitali, Ahmed Abdelnour, Amr A. Abdullah, Abo-alhassan N. Hassan
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Abstract
Background
This study explores a sustainable method for biofuel production from leather tanning waste (LTW) using a novel single-step, catalyst-free supercritical methanolysis (SpCM) process. Traditional biodiesel production methods often require catalysts and involve complex purification steps, whereas this study aims to optimize process parameters to enhance biodiesel yield while reducing energy and material consumption.
Methods
The research employed a Box–Behnken experimental design integrated with response surface modeling (RSM) to optimize key process variables, including alcohol-to-LTW molar ratio (rmo), operating temperature, pressure, and reaction duration. The produced biodiesel was characterized according to EN 14214 standards. Kinetic studies of the transesterification reaction were conducted, and a robust reactor model was developed in Aspen Plus to estimate the kinetic parameters.
Results
The activation energy (Ea) and pre-exponential factor (A) were determined to be 45.085 kJ/mol and 86.24 s⁻1, respectively, with a rate constant (k) of 0.0098 s⁻1 at an optimized temperature of 322.938 °C. The optimized conditions using RSM achieved a biodiesel yield of 89.35% at an rmo of 32.35:1, a temperature of 322.938 °C, a pressure of 219.073 bar, and a reaction time of 14.26 min. The simulation model under the same conditions predicted a biodiesel yield of 89.49%, demonstrating excellent agreement with experimental results, with a maximum error of 0.54%.
Conclusions
This study presents a comprehensive approach to biodiesel production from LTW, demonstrating an efficient and sustainable alternative to conventional methods. The optimized catalyst-free SpCM process minimizes energy input and material usage while achieving high biodiesel yields. These findings contribute to waste valorization in the leather industry and support environmental sustainability efforts.
期刊介绍：
Beni-Suef University Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences (BJBAS) is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal. This journal welcomes submissions of original research, literature reviews, and editorials in its respected fields of fundamental science, applied science (with a particular focus on the fields of applied nanotechnology and biotechnology), medical sciences, pharmaceutical sciences, and engineering. The multidisciplinary aspects of the journal encourage global collaboration between researchers in multiple fields and provide cross-disciplinary dissemination of findings.
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