Effect of ZnCO3 as heterogeneous catalyst in the production of biodiesel using Castor oil

Abstract

applications. Vegetable oil appears to be a perfect alternative, but using most of the vegetable oil as a feedstock made its use for industrial purposes challenging. The recent trend is to develop coolants/lubricants from non-edible seed oil. This work investigates the effects of zinc carbonate nanoparticles on viscosity of Trans-esterified Castor oil. The crude Castor oil was purified; Trans-esterified and nanoparticles were dispersed in the Trans esterified oil at concentrations ranging from 0.0% to 1.0% at 0.2% intervals. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra were used to examine the structures of the samples and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analyses were used to examine the surface morphology of the samples. Viscosities were examined. Among other things, it was found that a small amount of ZnCO₃ 0.2% nanoparticles in the oil could improve the viscosity of the fluid. The study achieved 95.4% yield using ZnCO₃ Nano-catalyst at 65°C, 0.8wt% catalyst loading, and 12:1 methanol oil ratio.