Production of biodiesel via transesterification of castor oil using

Mg/Al hydrotalcite catalyst

Ali Abbasa, M. Ali Danisha, Hasnain Saleema, M. Jamshaida*1, A. A. Qureshia, H. H. Masjukib,

M. A. Kalamc, N.W.M. Zulkiflid, M. A. Malequeb, A. Arslane

a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Bahauddin

Zakariya University, 60000 Multan, Pakistan

b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, IIUM, 50728 Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia
c
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Australia.
d
Centre for Energy Sciences, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
e
Department of Mechanical Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad, 46000 Wah

Campus, Pakistan

ABSTRACT

The production of biodiesel using natural resources have attracted considerable attention in

scientific community to overcome the energy demand. In search for efficient and sustainable

alternative biofuels, castor oil can be a probable contender to petroleum diesel owing to

relatively low cloud and pour points, reasonable calorific values and higher flash point. On the

other hand, transesterification is a renowned economical approach for the production of

biodiesel. In this study, the biodiesel will be produced using castor oil obtained from Pakistan.

The transesterification of castor oil to produce biodiesel will be accomplished using Mg/Al

hydrotalcite catalyst. The Mg/Al layer double hydroxide (LDHs) catalyst supports for

immobilization and high reproducibility. The response surface methodology (RSM) technique

1
Corresponding Author: M. Jamshaid
Email Id: muhammad.jamshaid@bzu.edu.pk
will be utilized for the optimization of production parameters. The yield of production for castor

oil biodiesel will be enhanced by optimizing the process parameters for transesterification

including temperature, stirring speed, catalyst concentration, and methanol-oil molar ratios. The

fatty acids composition of castor oil biodiesel will be measured by gas chromatography

separation techniques. Further, the castor oil is a non-edible oil and its development for

alternative fuel does not significantly impact the human primary food requirements. The

production of biodiesel from castor oil via transesterification is a novel aspect of our project

research.

Keywords: Non-edible oil; Transesterification; Biodiesel; Response Surface Methodology