International Journal of Applied Engineering Research, ISSN 0973-4562 Vol. 10 No.
61 (2015)
© Research India Publications; httpwww.ripublication.comijaer.htm
KF/CaO Nanocatalyst for the Production of
Biodiesel from Animal Fat Through Single-Step
Process
B.Vijaya Kumar
Department of Petrochemical Engineering,
RVS College Engineering and Technology,
Coimbatore, India.
P. Sivakumar,
Department of Petrochemical Engineering,
RVS College Engineering and Technology,
Coimbatore, India
Abstract--In this present study, the animal fat has been taken as
a feedstock for the biodiesel production using KF/CaO nanocatalyst.
It was carried out through single-step transesterification process.
The effects of methanol to oil molar ratio, reaction temperature,
nanocatalyst quantity and reaction time were investigated. It was
found that the biodiesel achieved an optimum yield of 97% at the
following reaction conditions; molar ratio of methanol/oil; 10:1,
catalyst concentration; 5.0 wt. % and reaction temperature; 60 °C.
The results showed that the biodiesel experienced a higher but much
narrower boiling range than conventional diesel. The use of
nanocatalyzed production of biodiesel has given as a possible route,
as it is environmentally benign needs no water washing and product
separation is much easier. The quality of biodiesel which was
obtained from waste tallow had the recommended fuel properties as
per ASTM standard.
Keywords—Nanocatalyst;Transesterification;Biodiesel;
Methanol
I. INTRODUCTION
Due to the rapid increasing growth of population and the
decreasing in unavailability of fossil fuels around the globe,
there is a great demand for alternative renewable fuel [1]. Bio
diesel is a renewable, nontoxic, biodegradable and environment
friendly fuel, which are produced by the process of
transesterification using vegetable oil or animal fat.
Conventionally, transesterification were carried out by either
base, acid or enzyme catalyst [2]. Base catalysts include
homogeneous base catalyst and heterogeneous base catalyst.
Most of the current commercial processes for the synthesis of
biodiesel are widely used by homogeneous catalyst, such as
NaOH or KOH. However, the several drawbacks have been
identified by the use of homogeneous base catalyst, such as the
separation of catalyst and require a large volume of water for
the purification of the product. Therefore, for the development
of benign process and the reduction of production cost, a new
process using heterogeneous catalyst must be introduced.
The purpose to choose heterogeneous catalyst compared to
homogeneous catalyst is that, heterogeneous based catalyst can
be easily recoverable and recyclable, have less corrosive
nature, leading to safer, cheaper more environment-friendly
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K. Ramesh,
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Government College of Technology,
Coimbatore, India.
M. Vishnupriya,
Department of Environmental Engineering,
Park College of Technology,
Coimbatore, India
operation. But the problem occurs during the separation of the
mixtures related to the reuse of catalyst after filtration through
the membrane [3]. To avoid such problems, the better choice to
use nano based catalyst for the transesterification process,
which provides higher catalytic activity, easier to separate and
reusable, simple operational procedures, and regenerates of less
pollution. Therefore, only few have been reported by the use of
nanocatalyst for the transesterification process. S. Hu et al
(2011), used nanomagnetic catalyst (KF/CaO–Fe3O4) for the
transesterification of Stillingia oil with methanol [1]. L. Wen et
al (2010) used nanocatalyst (KF/CaO) for the
transesterification of palm oil with methanol [4].
The scope of the study is to use the waste beef tallow which
are brought from the slaughter houses around the city and has
been used for the biodiesel production through the process of
transesterification with nanocatalyst (KF/CaO) [5]. The
influence of various factors on the biodiesel yield was also
investigation.
II. MATERIALS AND METHODS
A. Feed Stocks
Waste beef tallow which were bought from the various
slaughter houses of Chennai. Beef tallow were melted by
slowly heating up to 65°C and were then filtered, centrifuged
and decanted in order to remove the waxy materials and other
suspended matters and residues [7]. Then the processed beef
tallow was stored in air tight opaque plastic jars to prevent
oxidation. Nanocatalyst (KF/CaO) and methanol of higher
analytical grade reagent were bought from Sri Sasthaa
Scientific Company, Coimbatore.
B. Transesterification Procedure
The production of fatty acid methyl esters from beef tallow
were carried out by transesterification catalyzed by
nanocatalyst (KF/CaO) through single-step process. The
experiment was carried out in a 100 mL glass reactor equipped
with a condenser and a mechanical stirrer. In this reaction, 5 g
of beef tallow oil was added into a mixture of 1.0 g of
nanocatalyst (KF/CaO) and 150 mL of anhydrous methanol
[6]. The mixture was refluxed at 65 °C, with mechanical
 International Journal of Applied Engineering Research, ISSN 0973-4562 Vol. 10 No.61 (2015)
© Research India Publications; httpwww.ripublication.comijaer.htm
stirring for 1 h, cooled and distilled to remove excess methanol.
After the mixture is cooled, the mixture was poured into a
separating funnel and it is kept undisturbed for 24 h. Through
gravity separation the mixture (biodiesel and glycerol) were
separated. The upper oil layer (biodiesel) was washed with hot
water (50 °C) until the washing was neutral. Biodiesel yield
(wt.%) relative to the weight of tallow was estimated.
III. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
The effect of different process parameters such as molar
ratio of methanol to oil, reaction temperature, catalyst quantity,
and reaction time on biodiesel yield was evaluated and
presented below.
A. Effect of Reaction Temperature
The effect on reaction temperature on the yield of biodiesel
when methanol:oil ratio, 10:1 in the presence of 5 wt%
KF/CaO [7]. On increasing the temperature from 30 °C to 55
°C, the yield of biodiesel gets increased. However, around 60
°C conversion was increasing constantly. At higher
temperature the yield will be increased because of the
increasing in transesterification reaction [8].
100
90
80
Yield wt%
C. Effect of Methanol to Oil Ratio
The effect of methanol to oil ratio is one of the most
important factor affecting the yield of biodiesel. When the
amount of methanol is increased with respect to oil the yield
also increases. This is due to shifting of equilibrium towards
the product side.
IV. CONCLUSION
The nanocatalyst KF/CaO can be used for biodiesel
production which yields higher product. When the reaction is
carried out at 60 °C with a methanol/ oil molar ratio of 10:1
and a catalyst concentration of 5 wt%, the biodiesel yield
exceeds 96% at 24 h of reaction time. The nanocatalyst is well
used to convert the oil with higher acid value into biodiesel.
The nanocatalyst is able to be reused up to 10 times without
much deterioration in its activity, which increase catalytic
activity and stability. The high specific surface area and large
pore size are favorable for contact between catalyst and
substrates, which effectively improved efficiency of
transesterification.
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was carried out successfully. On increasing the concentration
of the catalyst the yield gets increased. This shows that the
nanocatalyst can be used for the production of biodiesel.

99

95
Yield wt%

91

87

83

79

75
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Catalyst wt%
Fig. 2. Effect of catalyst on biodiesel yield

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International Journal of Applied Engineering Research, ISSN 0973-4562 Vol. 10 No.61 (2015)
© Research India Publications; httpwww.ripublication.comijaer.htm

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