EGGSHELL HETEROGENEOUS CATALYZED IN-SITU TRANSESTERIFICATION OF CASSIA TORA SEED (CTS) OIL

Journal: Acta Chemica Malaysia (ACMY)
Author: H. Ogala, A.R. Ige
ISSN: 2576-6732
e-ISSN: 2576-6724

This is an open access journal distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

DOI: 10.26480/acmy.01.2022.07.11

Diminishing fossil fuel resources, coupled with the steady increase in energy consumption has spurred research interest in alternative and renewable energy sources. The article presents the production of biodiesel from cassia tora seed using eggshell as catalyst. In this research work, oil was extracted from CTS using soxhlet extractor and n-hexane as solvent. The extracted oil was characterized via physicochemical analysis then in-situ transesterification of oil with methanol was carried out using eggshell as catalyst. The physico-chemical analysis showed the state of the oil at room temperature to be liquid, the odour was mild, the colour was brown, specific density was 3.46, saponification value was 193.6 ± 0.25, acid value was 8.2 ± 0.4, and iodine value was 100.68 ± 1.0. Biodiesel characterization showed that kinematic viscosity at 40oC was 4.98, cetane number was 64.5, flash point was 159, pour point was -13, cloud point was 5, and density was 0.85. The prepared eggshell catalyst was characterized using X-ray Fluorescence and was found to be composed of CaO (73.2), MgO (0.2), SiO₂ (0.4), SO₃ (0.3), P₂O₅ (0.7), Na₂O (0.5), Al₂O₃ (0.07), K₂O (0.03), and Fe₂O₃ (0.08). This study suggests that CTS oil can be used as a source of triglycerides in the manufacture of biodiesel by transesterification. The properties of the biodiesel produced showed theoretical compatibility with diesel engines in accordance with the American standard for testing materials (ASTM).