Abstract:
Homogeneous catalysts when used for biodiesel production cannot be recycled,
because they are corrosive and costly. To overcome these problems, calcium oxide and
magnessium oxide were impregnated into alumina to form CaO/Al2O3 and MgO/Al2O3
which were both calcined at 750 at first and thereafter at 900 °C for 30 minutes. They
were used as heterogeneous catalysts in the production of biodiesel from coconut oil
and jaropha seed oil. While varying molar ratio, catalyst amount, reaction time and
temperature. The maximum yield for coconut oil was 96 % using CaO/Al2O3 and 93 %
for jatropha oil using MgO/Al2O3. In both cases, the condition for maximum yield was
molar ratio of 6:1, catalyst amount of 0.05 wt. % and reaction temperature of 60 °C,
reaction time of 60 minutes and constant stir speed of 400 rpm. The biodiesel produced were characterized and the fatty acid profile obtained by Gas Chromatography. The results showed that the properties are within the ASTM and EN limits for biodiesel. The catalysts were also characterized to determine their contents and crystal structures
