High performance heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel production from non-edible oil

In this study biodiesel production by transesterificating Silybum marianum oil with methanol was done using KF-Atta-2M-5 catalyst prepared from low-cost attapulgite clay. This effective heterogeneous catalyst was prepared by dehydroxylating raw attapulgite at 130°C for 6 h and treating it with 1.5 M H2SO4. Following washing and drying, the acid-activated attapulgite was soaked in 2 M KF for 24 h, then dried at 100°C for 12 h and finally calcined at 400°C for 5 h. The catalyst was characterized using Hammett indicators, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The optimum conditions for the transesterification reaction include methanol to oil ratio of 12:1, catalyst amount of 12 wt.%, reaction temperature of 65°C and reaction time of 5 h. The optimum yield was 93.5%. The catalyst could be cheap and have superior activity for which reason it may be a potential candidate for biodiesel production. The properties of the biodiesel were also comparable to American-ASTM D6751-03 and European-EN 14214 standards.