Parametric study on the production of biodiesel from waste sunflower oil using Zeolitic tuff based catalyst.

This study aims to investigate the potential of zeolitic based catalysts for biodiesel production from waste sunflower vegetable oil. The zeolite-based catalyst was prepared by two impregnation steps. The obtained catalyst was examined for the transesterification reaction. The effect of operating variables and the synergetic effects between those variables were investigated. Other parameters such as catalyst impregnation time, stirring speed and catalyst particle size were also studied. Furthermore, the physical and chemical properties of the oil and the produced biodiesel were measured. Nearly complete 100% conversion and 96.7% yield were achieved using 11.5 MeOH/oil molar ratio, 6.4% catalyst dosage, at 50°C reaction temperature and reaction time of 2 hours. The properties of the obtained biodiesel are in agreement with the values specified by US and EU standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]