Optimization and cost analysis evaluation studies of the biodiesel production from waste cooking oil using Na-Si/Ce-500 heterogeneous catalyst

A new Na-Si/Ce-500 base catalyst was synthesized for the catalytic trans-esterification of non-edible low cost waste cooking oil (WCO) for profitable biodiesel production. The Na-Si/Ce-500 was successfully fabricated by the combination of st & ouml;ber, reflux and wet impregnation methods respectively. The catalytic efficiency of Na-Si/Ce-500 catalyst was tested at various calcination temperatures ranges from 300 degrees C to 700 degrees C. In addition, the catalyst was evaluated by different instrumental techniques XRD, FESEM, EDX, XPS, BET and FTIR. The maximum biodiesel of 98% was obtained by the catalytic trans-esterification of waste cooking oil at optimum reaction conditions of 1:14 WCO/MeOH molar ratio, 70 degrees C of reaction temperature, 2.5 wt% of catalyst dosage and 2 h of reaction time. The produced biodiesel was certified by FT-IR and GC-MS. The designed catalyst extended the catalytic performance even after 5th runs. Furthermore, the E-factor and catalyst cost analysis were also investigated in the current study, which offer environmentally friendly and low cost biodiesel production opportunities. Moreover, no leaching of basic species was detected by analyzing the biodiesel sample with atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), demonstrating the good stability of the designed catalyst.