Biodiesel Synthesis from the Used Cooking Oil Using CaO Catalyst Derived from Waste Animal Bones

Abstract

The synthesis of biodiesel from the used cooking oil with CaO catalyst from waste animal bones has been investigated. The content of free fatty acids (FFA) in the used cooking oil was reduced by adsorption using activated charcoal from a salak peel. Biodiesel synthesis was carried out via transesterification using CaO catalyst. The CaO catalyst was obtained from waste animal bones calcined in the Ney Vulcan furnace. The effect of calcination temperature was studied in the range of 873‒1273 K. The effect of catalyst loading was investigated by varying within the range of 1‒9 wt %. The methanol to oil molar ratio was investigated in the range from 6:1 to 18:1. The effect of the transesterification reaction time was studied with a time variation of 1‒5 h. The optimum operating conditions were determined. Under these conditions, the yield of biodiesel produced was 97.56 % with an ester content of 96.06 %. It was shown that the physicochemical properties of biodiesel produced meet the standards.