One-pot conversion of non-edible oil into sustainable biodiesel using novel bifunctional heterogeneous catalyst

This study aims to produce biodiesel from indigenous non-edible feedstock of wild olive seed oil using novel bifunctional xK₂O/ZrO₂-Bi₂O₃ catalyst. The designed catalyst was prepared using sol gel-impregnation method. The textural and surface properties of the synthesized catalyst were elucidated using various analytical techniques including EDX, FTIR, XRD, SEM, BET and XPS. The catalyst provided highest biodiesel yield of 95.2 % under the optimized reaction conditions. The successful synthesis of biodiesel was confirmed by GCMS, NMR and FTIR analysis, whereas; the various physiochemical properties were investigated according to the ASTM and EN standards. The designed catalyst showed substantial reproducibility and recyclability up to four times. The mechanism for xK₂O/ZrO₂-Bi₂O₃ catalyzed transesterification reaction of WOSO was also proposed. The kinetics studies revealed that the reaction follows pseudo first order and the Ea was calculated to be 32.58 kJ mol⁻¹.