Utilization of leather fleshing waste as a feedstock for sustainable biodiesel production

ABSTRACTThe production of biodiesel from tannery waste consisting of fat oil has the dual benefits of solid waste management and renewable energy generation. The fleshing fat oil has a free fatty acid value of about 44%. It could be highly promising if utilized as a raw material for biodiesel production. In this research work, the optimization of esterification process was carried out to convert nonedible crude grease into fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). The effects of temperature, acid concentration, oil to methanol molar ratio, and reaction time were optimized. The transesterification process was accomplished to produce FAME in the presence of 1.2% potassium hydroxide (KOH) catalyst in the molar ratio of 1:6 (oil to methanol) at 75°C during 90 min reaction time at 350 rpm. The biodiesel was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.