MgO Supported Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) Shell for Methanolysis of Waste Cooking Oil

The present work is primarily focused on use of an agriculture waste i.e. groundnut shell for preparation of Mg metal ion supported heterogeneous catalyst. Wet impregnation method was followed to prepare the catalyst and finally physiological characterization was done by XRD, FESEM, SEM-EDS, HR-TEM, TGA and BET surface area analysis. Nano range metal oxide ions were observed during HR-TEM analysis and formation of Epsomite was confirmed by XRD analysis. Mg grafting followed by calcination made the catalyst heat stable above 500 °C. Effect of Mg metal loading during methanolysis of waste cooking oil was extensively studied by developing a second order kinetic model. The catalytic activity was studied by using various weight proportions of waste shell and metal oxide. The most important factor i.e. reusability of catalyst was studied thoroughly and after seven cycle the decrease in methyl ester yield was found to be only 2.9%.