SYNTHESIS OF HIERARCHICAL ZEOLITE Y CATALYST FOR THE PRODUCTION OF BIODIESEL FROM WASTE VEGETABLE OIL
Hierarchical (mesoporous) zeolites catalysts have received an ever-increasing attention as a result of their improved performance in catalyzed reactions compared to conventional ones. One of the widely applied preparation methods to tailor these modified zeolites is by desilication in alkaline media for optimal combination of efficiency and simplicity. This study synthesized and characterized hierarchical zeolite catalyst to transesterify waste vegetable oil. Y zeolite (FAU topology) was exposed to NaOH treatment, also known as top-down approach, at 60°C for 10min, protonated at 90°C for 2h to produce hierarchical zeolite Y, and calcined at 600°C for 1h to remove organic material within the channel pore of the Y zeolite, leading to the introduction of mesopore with surface area of 331.628 m2/g. This alkaline treatment while it preserved the zeolite's intrinsic properties such as crystallinity and micropore volume, it also brought about an abundance of Al-rich zeolite. The properties of the hierarchical zeolite Y was assessed using FT-IR spectroscopy, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm analyzers for BET and XRD. It was observed that the hierarchical Y zeolite possessed superior catalytic properties compared to the conventional ones. Furthermore, the desilication of zeolite Y brought about improvement in the surface area as a result of increase in the total pore volume, thereby providing increase in more active sites which interact with the reactants. Consequently, 89% biodiesel formation was facilitated by the transesterification of the triglycerides in the waste vegetable oil (WVO) carried out under reflux at 60°C, with MeOH/Oil ratio of 7:1, 0.2g hierarchical zeolite Y catalyst mass and optimized time of 2h. The synthesiezed catalyst has proved to be efficient for biodiesel production from waste vegetable oil.
Authors : Kefas, H.M., Kovo, A. S., Odo G. and Abdulkareem, A.S.
Category : Open Access Volume (Issue) : 8(1) Date Uploaded : 3rd November 2022