Potential of Fatty Acid Methyl Ester as Diesel Blends Produced from Free Fatty Acid in Waste Cooking Oil Catalyzed by Montmorillonite-Sulfonated Carbon

This research, biodiesel production from waste cooking oil (WCO), was conducted using a montmorillonite-sulfonated carbon catalyst from molasses. The biodiesel product would be blended with diesel fuel with various volume variations to see its fuel properties. The catalyst was assessed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm, and acidity analysis using the titration method. The effect of the weight ratio of montmorillonite to sulfonated carbon was also evaluated. The process of esterification reaction was optimized using the response surface methodology with a central composite design (RSM-CCD). The study showed that the weight ratio of montmorillonite to sulfonated carbon of 1:3 generated the highest acidity of 9.79 mmol/g with a prominent enhanced surface area and was further employed to optimize the esterification reaction. The optimum condition was obtained at a reaction temperature of 78.12°C, catalyst weight of 2.98 g, and reaction time of 118.27 with an FFA conversion of 74.101%. The optimum condition for the mixture of FAME and diesel fuel was achieved at the composition of the B20 blend, which met the FAME standard. The reusability study revealed that the catalyst had adequate stability at three consecutive runs, with a reduced performance was 18.60%. The reduction of FFA conversion was due to the leaching of the catalyst’s active site. This study disclosed that the FAME generated from the esterification of FFA on WCO-catalyzed montmorillonite-sulfonated carbon had a promising option as biodiesel blends for increasing the quality of commercial diesel.

Enhanced Isopropyl Alcohol Conversion over Acidic Nickel Phosphate-Supported Zeolite Catalysts

In this preliminary research, the catalytic activity of isopropyl alcohol conversion to diisopropyl ether through dehydration reaction catalyzed by zeolite-Ni and zeolite-Ni(H₂PO₄)₂ was comparatively described. The natural zeolite was treated with 1% HF and 6 N HCl prior to modifications using the impregnation method. Isopropyl alcohol conversion was examined at a mild temperature of 150 °C for 3.5 h on the reflux system with various catalyst loadings. X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared analysis confirmed the successful impregnation of nickel and nickel phosphate into the zeolite. Scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed a cubic-like structure on zeolite-Ni(H₂PO₄)₂, whereas homogenously distributed nickel species were observed on the zeolite-Ni catalyst. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis reinforced the accomplishment of zeolite modifications. The N₂ physisorption isotherms showed a decline in the surface area and total pore volume of the zeolite because of the blocking of pores. The zeolite-Ni(H₂PO₄)₂ catalyst had higher acidity than unmodified zeolite and zeolite-Ni catalysts, which inherently suggested that the presence of phosphate groups results in higher catalytic activity toward isopropyl alcohol. The highest catalytic activity was attained by 8 mEq/g metal loading zeolite-Ni(H₂PO₄)₂ with isopropyl alcohol conversion of 81.51%, diisopropyl ether yield, and selectivity of 40.77 and 33.16%. The reusability study suggested that the zeolite-Ni(H₂PO₄)₂ catalyst was still active and had sufficient catalytic activity stability toward isopropyl alcohol after the third cycle was reused. This nickel phosphate-based modified zeolite was adequately potential for diisopropyl ether production through isopropyl alcohol dehydration.

Hydrocracking of crude palm oil to a biofuel using zirconium nitride and zirconium phosphide-modified bentonite

In this study, bentonite modified by zirconium nitride (ZrN) and zirconium phosphide (ZrP) catalysts was studied in the hydrocracking of crude palm oil to biofuels. The study demonstrated that bentonite was propitiously modified by ZrN and ZrP, as assessed by XRD, FTIR spectroscopy, and SEM-EDX analysis. The acidity of the bentonite catalyst was remarkably enhanced by ZrN and ZrP, and it showed an increased intensity in the Lewis acid and Brønsted acid sites, as presented by pyridine FTIR. In the hydrocracking application, the highest conversion was achieved by bentonite-ZrN at 8 mEq g⁻¹ catalyst loading of 87.93%, whereas bentonite-ZrP at 10 mEq g⁻¹ showed 86.04% conversion, which suggested that there was a strong positive correlation between the catalyst acidity and the conversion under a particular condition. The biofuel distribution fraction showed that both the catalysts produced a high bio-kerosene fraction, followed by bio-gasoline and oil fuel fractions. The reusability study revealed that both the catalysts had sufficient conversion stability of CPO through the hydrocracking reaction up to four consecutive runs with a low decrease in the catalyst activity. Overall, bentonite-ZrN dominantly favored the hydrocracking of CPO than bentonite-ZrP.

In this study, bentonite modified by zirconium nitride (ZrN) and zirconium phosphide (ZrP) catalysts was studied in the hydrocracking of crude palm oil to biofuels.

Hydrocracking optimization of palm oil to bio-gasoline and bio-aviation fuels using molybdenum nitride-bentonite catalyst

In this study, molybdenum nitride-bentonite was successfully employed for the reaction of hydrocracking of palm oil to produce a bio-gasoline and bio-aviation fuel. The prepared catalyst was characterized using XRD, FT-IR, and SEM-EDX. The acidity of the catalyst was determined using the pyridine gravimetric method. The result showed that the acidity of bentonite was increased after modification using molybdenum nitride. The hydrocracking study showed that the highest conversion and product fraction of bio-gasoline and bio-aviation fuel were exhibited by molybdenum nitride-bentonite 8 mEq g⁻¹. The catalyst was later used to optimize the hydrocracking process using RSM-CCD. The effects of the process variables such as temperature, contact time, and catalyst to feed ratio, on the response variables, such as conversion, oil, gas, and coke yield, were investigated. The analysis of variance showed that the proposed quadratic model was statistically significant with adequate precision to estimate the responses. The optimum conditions in the hydrocracking process were achieved at a temperature of 731.94 K, contact time of 0.12 h, and a catalyst to feed ratio of 0.12 w/v with a conversion of 78.33%, an oil yield of 50.32%, gas yield of 44.00% and coke yield of 5.73%. The RSM-CCD was demonstrated as a suitable method for estimating the hydrocracking process of palm oil using a MoN-bentonite catalyst due to its closeness to the optimal value of the expected yield. This study provided a potential catalyst of based on bentonite modified using molybdenum nitride for the hydrocracking of palm oil.

In this study, molybdenum nitride-bentonite was successfully employed for the reaction of hydrocracking of palm oil to produce a bio-gasoline and bio-aviation fuel.