Microwave-assisted biodiesel production using bio-waste catalyst and process optimization using response surface...

Area of Science:

• Green Chemistry
• Catalysis
• Renewable Energy

Background:

• Global energy demands and climate change necessitate sustainable fuel alternatives.
• Biodiesel derived from renewable resources offers a potential solution to mitigate global warming.
• Valorization of waste materials for catalyst production aligns with circular economy principles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel heterogeneous catalyst from banana peel waste for biodiesel production.
• To investigate the catalytic activity of sulfonic acid-functionalized banana peel for oleic acid esterification.
• To optimize biodiesel yield using response surface methodology under microwave irradiation.

Main Methods:

• Banana peel waste was functionalized with sulfonic acid groups to create a porous heterogeneous catalyst.
• Catalyst characterization involved PXRD, FTIR, TGA, TEM, and SEM-EDX analyses.
• Biodiesel yield was optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) with a central composite design (CCD).

Main Results:

• The catalyst exhibited high acidity with 4.62 wt% sulfur content (1.4437 mmol g^-1 sulfonic acids).
• Optimized conditions yielded 97.9 ± 0.7% biodiesel from oleic acid.
• The catalyst demonstrated excellent stability and reusability for at least 5 cycles.

Conclusions:

• Porous sulfonic acid-functionalized banana peel waste is an effective heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel production.
• Microwave irradiation and RSM significantly enhance the efficiency of biodiesel synthesis.
• This study presents a sustainable and cost-effective approach for biodiesel generation from waste biomass.