Biodiesel Production from Waste Edible Oil with Heterogeneous Catalysts (Nanoclay-Based Nanocatalysts).

The various benefits of biofuels versus fossil fuels due to recent global challenges and issues are the best approach toward low-cost economic production of renewable energy. This study is trying to obtain economic catalysts with easy fabrication technology. The synthesized catalysts were obtained using calcium oxide/nanoclay catalysts by an initial ion-exchange reaction of calcium oxide and nanoclays (montmorillonite). These catalysts have been synthesized for the first time by being stirred for 5 h at a temperature of 80 °C, and the colloidal supernatant is obtained and kept in an ultrasonic bath for 20 min. The solution was filtered, washed several times, the residual mixture on filter paper was dried in the oven at 50 °C for few hours, and the powder was calcined for 8 h in a furnace at 600 °C. After identification and characterization, using XRD, BET, and SEM, the results approved the formation of a new nanostructure in synthesized catalysts, which were suitable to be used in biodiesel production from waste oils with high free fatty acids content. The results of this study indicate that the catalysts production process is not complicated, and methyl ester production rates in all biodiesel samples were more than 97% (97.1–98.8%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]