Synthesis of algae biodiesel using K2CO3/ZnO heterogeneous base catalyst and its characterisation

Abstract

The objective of the present work is to produce algae biodiesel with base heterogeneous catalyst K2CO3 /ZnO. This catalyst is prepared by wet impregnation method calcined at a high temperature of 600oC. 30% doping of K2CO3on ZnO calcined at 600oC was studied for biodiesel yield. Transesterification reaction parameters like catalyst concentration, temperature, stirring speed, the molar ratio of methanol to oil on biodiesel yield were investigated. The produced algae biodiesel was characterized by various techniques such as thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TGA-DSC), Gas Chromatography analysis and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Gas chromatography (GC) shows the presence of higher Oleic acid content of 90.8% and Linolenic acid of 0.1% in the synthesized algae biodiesel. Differential scanning calorimetric analysis shows that the boiling point off fatty acid methyl esters is 269.50C. Thermogravimetric analysis reveals that oil decomposition starts at360oCand maximum weighty loss is observed at 422.5oC.