Application of modified CaO as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel production

Abstract

Modified CaO has been prepared and investigated in transesterification of rapeseed oil with methanol to determine its viability as a basic catalyst for use in biodiesel synthesis. It has been found that the fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) yield is greatly enhanced from 66.2 to 96.5% over modified CaO with methanol/oil ratio of 15:1 at 65°C after 4 h. Furthermore, the good catalytic activity, 83.8% yield of FAME, remains even in the 2% water-contained condition over modified CaO. The catalyst has been characterized by Brunaure-Emett-Teller (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR).