Enhanced biodiesel production from Jatropha oil using calcined waste animal bones as catalyst

This study is focused on the investigation of animal bones modified with potassium hydroxide (KOH) as heterogeneous solid base catalyst for transesterification of non-edible Jatropha oil. The prepared catalyst was characterized by energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). The prepared catalyst had a high catalytic activity for transesterification. In addition, the catalyst had excellent stability, there by having potential use as a heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel production from Jatropha oil with a high free fatty acid (FFA) yield. The experimental results revealed the optimal parametric conditions viz. methanol/oil molar ratio, 9:1, calcination temperature, 900 degrees C and catalyst concentration, 6.0 wt % of oil corresponding to a maximum fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) yield of 96.1% at temperature of 70 +/- 3 degrees C in reaction time of 3 h. Reusability results of the prepared catalyst confirmed that it could be reutilized up to 4 times without losing much activity, thus giving birth to a potentially applicable possibility in biodiesel production. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.