TY - JOUR
T1 - A TiO2 composite with graphitic carbon nitride as a photocatalyst for biodiesel production from waste cooking oil
AU - Khan, Mahrukh
AU - Farah, Humera
AU - Iqbal, Naseem
AU - Noor, Tayyaba
AU - Amjad, M. Zain Bin
AU - Bukhari, Syeda Sidrah Ejaz
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2021.
PY - 2021/11/16
Y1 - 2021/11/16
N2 - Semiconductor-based photocatalysts have attracted a lot of interest due to their environmental friendliness and high stability. Waste cooking oil can be converted to biodiesel by the process of transesterification. A TiO2/g-C3N4combination was prepared by using a wet impregnation process. The photocatalyst was analyzed by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy (EDX), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis). For effective transesterification, WCO was collected and acid-esterified to reduce the FFA concentration (below 3%). For the transesterification reaction, esterified WCO was used and the reactions were carried out under solar irradiation at 60 °C with an oil to methanol ratio of 1 : 9 and stirred for 1 hour, using different TiO2/g-C3N4catalysts (10, 20 & 30%) with different catalyst concentrations of 1%, 2% and 3%. The results showed that TiO2/20% g-C3N4with 2% catalyst concentration gives the highest yield of biodiesel production (89.5%) as compared to other catalyst concentrations used. In addition to (FTIR), additional fuel characteristics such as density, viscosity, flashpoint, acid value, and pH were tested to determine the quality of the generated biodiesel and were found to comply with fuel standards. With high stability and good catalytic activity, the synthesized composite TiO2/g-C3N4is a viable option for producing biodiesel from WCO.
AB - Semiconductor-based photocatalysts have attracted a lot of interest due to their environmental friendliness and high stability. Waste cooking oil can be converted to biodiesel by the process of transesterification. A TiO2/g-C3N4combination was prepared by using a wet impregnation process. The photocatalyst was analyzed by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy (EDX), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis). For effective transesterification, WCO was collected and acid-esterified to reduce the FFA concentration (below 3%). For the transesterification reaction, esterified WCO was used and the reactions were carried out under solar irradiation at 60 °C with an oil to methanol ratio of 1 : 9 and stirred for 1 hour, using different TiO2/g-C3N4catalysts (10, 20 & 30%) with different catalyst concentrations of 1%, 2% and 3%. The results showed that TiO2/20% g-C3N4with 2% catalyst concentration gives the highest yield of biodiesel production (89.5%) as compared to other catalyst concentrations used. In addition to (FTIR), additional fuel characteristics such as density, viscosity, flashpoint, acid value, and pH were tested to determine the quality of the generated biodiesel and were found to comply with fuel standards. With high stability and good catalytic activity, the synthesized composite TiO2/g-C3N4is a viable option for producing biodiesel from WCO.
UR - https://doi.org/10.1039/D1RA07796A
U2 - 10.1039/D1RA07796A
DO - 10.1039/D1RA07796A
M3 - Article
SN - 2046-2069
VL - 11
SP - 37575
EP - 37583
JO - RSC Advances
JF - RSC Advances
IS - 59
ER -
