OPTIMIZATION OF BIODIESEL PRODUCTION FROM WASTE VEGETABLE OIL USING Zr- OXIDE CATALYST ANCHORED ON CARBONIZED MATERIAL

The current investigation emphasizes preparing low-cost carbon-based zirconium impregnated heterogeneous catalysts from wood dust to produce biodiesel from waste vegetable oil (WVO). Response Surface Methodology via Central Composite Design (RSM-CCD) optimized the biodiesel production process. The physico-chemical properties of waste vegetable methyl ester were determined following the American Standard Testing of Materials (ASTM). The optimum conditions were observed to be 8:1 methanol/oil ratio, 5 wt% catalyst loading, 55°C temperature, and 3 h reaction time. The corresponding response was observed to be 98.39%. The catalyst morphology and elemental composition were determined using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy-Dispersive X-ray (EDX), respectively. The experimental analysis confirmed that the synthesized catalyst from wood dust under optimized conditions can transesterify WVO into biodiesel.