Transesterification of waste cooking palm oil by MnZr with supported alumina as a potential heterogeneous catalyst

摘要

The transesterification of waste cooking palm oil (WCPO) with methanol into fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) was investigated using solid acidic mixed oxide catalysts Mn_(3.5x)Zr_(0.5y)Al_xO3 prepared via coprecipitation. The effects of reaction temperature, time, molar methanol-to-oil ratio, and catalyst loading were investigated. The stability of the catalytic activity was examined via leaching and reusability tests through five consecutive batch runs. The catalyst achieved a FAME content of more than 93%, and the optimal reaction conditions are as follows: reaction temperature of 150°C, reaction time of 5h, molar methanol-to-WCPO ratio of 14:1, and catalyst loading of 2.5 wt.%.