Synthesis of Biodiesel from Low-Quality Crude Palm Oil with Heterogeneous Catalyst Cao-ZnO

Abstract

Synthetic optimization of methyl ester has been extracted from low-quality crude palm oil using heterogeneous catalyst. Quantitatively, the crude palm oil with low-quality is in abundance. To prepare the raw material to be used for biodiesel, it requires to be refined beforehand. By using heterogeneous catalysts, the synthetic biodiesel would become more affordable and environmentally friendly. This study aimed to synthesize methyl esters from low-quality crude palm oil using CaO-ZnO catalyst and determine its potential as biodiesel. This research was carried out through several stages, namely refining low-quality crude palm oil, determining the levels of low-quality refined crude palm oil free fatty acids, esterification, synthesis of methyl esters from low-quality crude palm oil with CaO-ZnO catalyst through transesterification, identification of the components composition of the mixture of synthesized methyl ester by GC-MS, and the characterization of the synthesized methyl esters. The results showed that methyl esters could be synthesized from low-quality crude palm oil through a transesterification reaction using CaO-ZnO catalyst. The highest yield was obtained from the use of catalyst 4% w/w of oil with a yield of 84.74%. The components of the constituent compounds of the mixture of synthesized methyl ester were methyl myristate (2.72%), methyl palmitate (54.87%), methyl linoleic (5.78), methyl oleate (26.83%), and methyl stearate (2.55%). The results of the characterization of the synthesized methyl ester showed a density 0.876 g/mL, a viscosity 3.60 cSt, a refractive index 1.448, and an acid number of 0.39 mg KOH/g of methyl ester, resulting in the potential methyl ester as biodiesel.