Synthesis of Alumina-Supported Chicken Eggshell Catalyst for Transesterification of Waste Cooking Oil

Abstract

This research presents the synthesis of alumina-supported chicken eggshell for the transesterification of waste cooking oil. The major materials used in the research are from renewable sources because the research focuses on addressing issues associated with renewable energy and the environment. Biodiesel was produced from waste cooking oil using alumina-supported calcium oxide from chicken eggshell. The alumina was leached from kaolinite clay using hydrochloric acid while the eggshell was from chicken. The prepared catalyst was characterized using XRF, FT-IR, BET, and TGA. Using a 24 factorial design, the catalyst synthesis was optimized and the effect of the parameters used in catalyst synthesis such as the impregnation ratio and time, calcination temperature and time, on the yield of biodiesel from waste cooking oil were investigated. The optimization study showed that; impregnation ratio of 1.17:1, 1.32 hours of impregnation, calcination at 740.31oC for 2.62 hours gave the best results of 75.4% with 95% confidence level. The conditions for transesterification were methanol to oil molar ratio of 12:1, 6wt% catalyst, 60oC reaction time, and mixing speed of 250rpm for ninety minutes. The result of the characterization of the biodiesel produced using the CaO/Al2O3 produced proves that the biodiesel compares favourably with ASTM standards.