ABSTRACT

In this study, a heterogeneous bi-functional catalyst was synthesized from orange peel and fish bone and their effectiveness in the simultaneous esterification and transesterification of neem seed oil (NSO) was compared. The method adopted in this research is the one-step biodiesel production process (simultaneous esterification and transesterification) which was optimised using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and Box Behkhen design. The results showed that the quadratic model best described the production process. The study also showed that catalyst loading, methanol concentration and reaction temperature has more significant effects on the NSO biodiesel yield, whereas, catalyst loading and reaction time influenced the acid value reduction process.