SCIENCE

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Browsing SCIENCE by Author "ABATYOUGH, MICHAEL TERUNGWA"

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    SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF BIODIESEL USING WASTE COOKING OIL AND CALCIUM OXIDE FROM WELDERS SLURRY
    (2016-08) ABATYOUGH, MICHAEL TERUNGWA
    Waste materials (carbide slurry and waste cooking oil) were explored in esterification and trans- esterification reactions as a viable alternative to conventional resources in lowering the cost of biodiesel production. Physicochemical study suggested esterification pretreatment for the waste cooking oils (WCO), having 3.6% moisture and sediment content and acid value of 3.8 mgKOH/g. Calcium Oxide catalyst was prepared from carbide slurry by thermal activation. The Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and Scanning electron microscope (SEM) techniques showed that the prepared calcium oxide had improved basic sites, calcium content and surface morphology respectively. Alkali supported on calcium oxide catalyst was then prepared by wet-impregnation method. The optimization of the esterification process for waste cooking oil was carried out using AlCl3 and H2SO4 catalysts. Using a two level, three factorial (23) experimental design, eight experiments were carried out at varying conditions of catalyst loading, reaction time and methanol- oil molar ratio. Response surface plot were used to show the interaction of the factors as they affect the percentage free fatty acid reduction. Free fatty acid reduction above 90% was achieved with both catalysts. Transesterification was then carried out with the esterified oils using prepared NaOH/CaO catalyst to synthesize the biodiesel. The quality and yield of the produced biodiesel was compared with those of aluminum chloride (AlCl3) and alkali (NaOH) catalysts. The percentage yields of prepared biodiesels were 90.2±0.57 for AlCl3, 89.7±0.16 for NaOH and 92.22±0.31 for NaOH/CaO catalyzed transesterification reactions. Fuel properties such as cetane number, cloud and pour points etc. showed trend with levels of saturation in transesterified oils. The fatty acid profile showed C16:0, C14:0, C18:0, C18:1, and C18:2. (Palmitic acid, myristic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, and linoleic acid) to be the major fatty acids among the biodiesel samples. The reusability of the NaOH/CaO catalyst was studied and found to give an appreciable yield of 74.5 % on the fourth reaction cycle, making it a durable catalyst for biodiesel production.