A bone-based catalyst for biodiesel production from waste cooking oil

Abstract

Biodiesel production via transesterification of waste cooking oil (WCO) with methanol using waste chicken bone-derived catalyst was investigated. The calcium carbonate content in the waste chicken bone was converted to calcium oxide (CaO) at a calcinations temperature of 800°C. The catalysts were prepared by calcination at 300–800°C for 5 h and catalyst characterization was carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area measurement. CaO was used as catalyst for biodiesel production. The results of the optimization imply that the catalyst concentration of 3.0 wt%, methanol to oil ratio of 3:1, and reaction temperature of 80°C for 3 h provide the maximum values of yield in methyl ester production. Reusability of the catalyst from calcined waste chicken bone was studied for four times, with a good yield.