Characterization and Testing of KF/CaO Heterogeneous Catalyst for Biodiesel Production

The application of heterogeneous catalyst in the production of biodiesel cannot only decline the costs of the separation process but also reduce the cost of biodiesel. The present study has emphasized on the performance evaluation of KF/CaO catalyst for biodiesel synthesis from nonedible Jatropha curcas oil (JCO). The synthesized catalyst was characterized through various analytical methods such as powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), CO₂-temparature program desorption (CO₂-TPD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, BET surface area (SA) and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). The novelty of this heterogeneous catalyst (KF/CaO) is its reuse without leaching of Ca²⁺. It was observed from experimental study that prepared catalyst reflects high efficiency towards catalytic transesterification activity. Furthermore, the catalyst has admirable stability, making it suitable for use as a solid base catalyst in the manufacture of biodiesel from Jatropha curcas oil with 5.5 percent free fatty acid (FFA). Reusability tests of the prepared catalyst validated that it could be reused up to four times without sacrificingample activity, thereby giving rise to a potentially relevant biodiesel production possibility.