DOI: https://doi.org/10.55373/mjchem.v27i5.200

Keywords: Ash; Biodiesel; catalyst; heterogeneous; transesterification

Abstract

The rapid growth of the human population has led to an increase in waste production from various sectors especially palm oil industry, posing significant environmental and economic challenges. Waste cooking oil (WCO) and empty fruit bunches ash (EFBA) are among the problematic waste products, and their disposal, along with the adverse environmental impacts of fossil fuels, has driven the demand for sustainable energy sources. Heterogeneous catalysts have emerged as a preferred option for biodiesel production due to the limitations of homogeneous catalysts in the transesterification process. This study explores the effectiveness of a NaOH/EFBA heterogeneous catalyst in the transesterification of WCO and analysis of its physicochemical properties. NaOH was doped onto EFBA using Incipient Wetness Impregnation (IWI) method and calcined at 600°C. The catalyst was characterized using TGA-DTG, FTIR, SEM-EDX, and XRD techniques, and the biodiesel was analysed using GC-MS. Optimal transesterification conditions were found to be at 7 wt% catalyst loading, 30 minutes reaction time, and an 18:1 methanol to oil ratio, yielding 71.25% biodiesel. The biodiesel was confirmed by the detection of hexadecanoic acid methyl esters, heptadecanoic acid methyl esters, 9- octadecanoic acid methyl esters, and 9,12-octadecanoic acid methyl esters in the GC-MS analysis. The results demonstrate that the potential catalyst efficiently converted triglycerides in waste cooking oil into fatty acid methyl esters (FAME).