Statistical optimization of biodiesel production from Prunus armeniaca oil over strontium functionalized calcium oxide

Rapid industrialisation and hike in fuel prices has led to a growing concern for the development of alternative fuel from renewable sources. Biodiesel is one of the promising biofuels as a replacement to petroleum diesel in the future. The present study reports the synthesis of a strontium functionalised calcium oxide (Sr/CaO) catalyst via wet impregnation method for biodiesel production from Prunus armeniaca oil. The characterisation data suggested the formation of fine particles of Sr/CaO catalyst with high pore diameter after the solid phase reaction. Response surface methodology in conjunction with central composite design was applied for the development of a quadratic model to optimize the biodiesel yield. The optimal yield of 90.4% was obtained at the following reaction conditions: 1.75% (w/v) catalyst dose, 12:1 methanol to oil molar ratio, 60 °C reaction temperature and 140 min reaction time and the prepared catalyst could be reused for four times with slight loss in activity. The obtained result was found to be in agreement with the predicted values which verified the accuracy of the model.