Transesterification of Jatropha curcas Oil by using K impregnated CaO Heterogeneous Catalyst

Abstract

Growing environmental concern and fast depletion of conventional fossil fuel resources have induced an urgent search for alternative energy sources. In this regard, biodiesel from Jatropha curcas oil (a non-edible oil), seems to be a very promising alternative. Though a lot of research is already done in catalytic transesterification, in the present work, conversion of high FFA (5.5%) bearing Jatropha oil to biodiesel was carried out using synthesized KF/CaO catalyst. The novelty of this heterogeneous catalyst is the omission of two major steps — neutralization step in which acid is used followed by transesterification using the basic homogeneous catalyst. This present KF/CaO is easily prepared from cheap chemicals and is safe for the environment. Catalytic transesterification of this oil was studied with different reaction parameters to achieve a 97% conversion. Optimization of conditions (methanol-oil molar ratio, catalyst amount, reaction time, and temperature) was also established. The present work makes the process not only safer to the environment but also shows the gateway for greener alternatives to the energy of high FFA oils.