Synthesis of biodiesel from neem oil using Mg-Al nano hydrotalcite

Methyl ester of fatty acids, derived from vegetable oils or animal fats are known as biodiesel. The most common method of biodiesel production is transesterification (alcoholysis) of oil (triglycerides) with methanol in the presence of a catalyst which gives biodiesel (fatty acid methyl esters, FAME) and glycerol (by product). In this work, an environmentally benign process for the methanolysis of neem oil to methyl esters using Mg-Al nano hydrotalcites as solid base catalysts in a heterogeneous manner was developed. The effect of the reaction temperature, reaction time, catalyst amount, and methanol /oil molar ratio on the Mg-Al nano hydrotalcite was analyzed. The nano catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM). Biodiesel produced from the neem oil by using Mg-Al nano hydrotalcite catalyst was analyzed by gas chromatography.