Kinetics and reusability of Zr/CaO as heterogeneous catalyst for the ethanolysis and methanolysis of Jatropha crucas oil

• Published in: Fuel processing technology Vol. 119; pp. 173 - 184
• Main Authors: KAUR, Navjot, ALI, Amjad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier 01-03-2014
• Subjects: Alternative fuels. Production and utilization; Applied sciences; Biofuel production; Biological and medical sciences; Biotechnology; Calcination; Catalysts; Catalytic activity; Energy; Ethyl alcohol; Exact sciences and technology; Fuels; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Industrial applications and implications. Economical aspects; Miscellaneous; Reaction kinetics; Scanning electron microscopy; Transesterification; Zirconium; Heterogeneous catalyst; Transition metal; Biofuel; Vegetable oil; Ethanolysis; Methanolysis; Transesterification; Biodiesel; Jatropha; Characterization; Heterogeneous catalysis; Zirconium; Dicotyledones; Angiospermae; Euphorbiaceae; Spermatophyta; Calcium Oxides; Kinetics; Reusable catalyst; Catalyst activity; Catalyst
• ISSN: 0378-3820; 1873-7188
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fuproc.2013.11.002

Zirconium impregnated (5-20 wt.%) calcium oxide (Zr/CaO) was prepared by a simple wet chemical method followed by calcination up to 900 [degrees]C. The prepared Zr/CaO was employed as a heterogeneous catalyst for the transesterification of Jatropha crucas oil with ethanol and methanol for the production of fatty acid ethyl and methyl esters, respectively. The catalysts were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area measurement, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy techniques and basic strength of the catalyst were established by acid-base titration. The catalytic activity was found to be a function of basic sites which in turn depend on calcination temperature and zirconium concentration. The catalyst with 15 wt.% zirconium concentration and calcined at 700 [degrees]C, showed the highest catalytic activity among the prepared catalysts. A pseudo first order kinetic equation was applied to evaluate the kinetic parameters of Zr/CaO catalyzed transesterification. The activation energy (E sub(a)) for the Zr/CaO catalyzed methanolysis and ethanolysis was found to be 29.8 kJ mol super(1) and 42.5 kJ mol super(1) respectively. The Koras-Nowak test was performed to demonstrate that catalytic activity was independent from the mass transport phenomenon and follows the kinetic regime.