OPTIMIZATION OF BIODIESEL PRODUCTION FROM AFRICAN OIL BEAN SEED OIL USING A BIFUNCTIONAL CATALYST DERIVED FROM COW HOOVES AND UNRIPE BANANA PEELS

ABSTRACT

The main aim of this study was to find the possibility of biodiesel production from African oil bean seed (AOBS) oil using a bifunctional catalyst from Cow hooves and Unripe Banana Peels in order to catalyze the synthesis of biodiesel from (AOBS) oil free fatty acid of 4.1075% and the evaluation of optimal input reaction parameters (Methanol: oil ratio, reaction temperature, reaction time and catalyst loading) for maximizing the methyl ester yield with Box-Behnken design. This was carried out in one way esterification-transexterification process. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), brunauer-emmett and teller (BET), Xray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and Response surface methodology (RSM) were used to evaluate the Cow hooves catalytic potential. The Optimal Yield was found to be 91.24 at methanol; oil ratio of 10.64, catalyst loading of 2.04, reaction temperature of 57.760C and reaction time of 73.56 minutes. The physiochemical properties of the African oil beans seed oil biodiesel such as Acid value 0.38 mgKOH/mg, Viscosity 4.4mm2 /s, flash point 1450C, Pour point -9 0C, and cetane number 55mgKOH/mg were carried out and found to be within the limits of ASTM 6751 and EN14214 specifications. R 2 value of 0.9704 was obtained using RSM The XRD which reveals the crystallinity of catalysts shows high peak of hydroxylapatite (calcium phosphate mineral), hatrurite, osumilite and quartz. Which are effective crystals for biodiesel production