Abstract:
The utilization of energy sources other than those derived from crude oil has currently
increased. This is due to the depletion of fossil fuel supplies, rising crude oil prices, and
environmental concerns. Due to their similar fuel qualities and cleaner emissions,
alternative fuels like biofuels are becoming more significant as diesel replacements.
Biodiesel may be blended with petroleum diesel at any concentration for use in a normal
diesel engine. In this study, biodiesel was produced by transesterification with palm oil
and methanol. The catalytic activity of gliricidia-biochar was studied and compared with
standard catalysts. Compared to sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and potassium hydroxide
(KOH), which ire commonly used as catalysts, Gliricidia biochar is cheap and easily
available. To increase the catalytic activity, biochar was chemically modified with acid
(H2SO4, HNO3) and base(KOH) treatments. To check how the standard catalyst affects
the biodiesel efficiency, & biodiesel sample was made by adding sodium hydroxide
(NaOH), and the properties of all produced biodiesel samples were compared. All
Biodiesel samples were produced after the esterification of free fatty acids using the
prepared catalysts. palm oil, and methanol at a reaction temperature of 65'C for one
hour. The oil-to-methanol ratio was taken as 1 :1. The density, viscosity, flash point, fire
point, acid value, and yield of the produced biodiesel were examined and tested by the
biodiesel IS standard. The parameters of the biodiesel sample produced using
unmodified biochar was similar to the biodiesel IS standard values (Density:
892.6kg/m3, Viscosity: 16cp, flash point: 175'C, fire point: 195'C, Acid value: 0.25mg
KOH/g and yield 84%). A maximum yield of 84% biodiesel could be obtained by
applying unmodified biochar. The prepared biochar samples were characterized using
Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
The surface functional groups of biochar were identified by FTIR analysis. And the
surface structures of biochar were identified by scanning electron microscopy. The
findings suggested that an unmodified gliricidia biochar-based catalyst was a very
promising choice for biodiesel production.
