Mussel shells as sustainable catalyst: Synthesis of liquid fuel from non edible seeds of Bauhinia malabarica and Gymnosporia montana

Abstract The utilization of waste resources is an important element of renewability and sustainable growth. The mussel shells are rich in calcium carbonate which can be converted to useable calcium oxide catalyst upon calcination. The novel feed stocks Bauhinia malabarica seed oil (BMSO) and Gymnosporia montana seed oil (GMSO) are investigated for their physico-chemical data source and are opted for liquid fuel synthesis. The catalyst used is characterized by XRD, FT-IR and SEM. The transesterification reaction is carried out by optimizing 9:1 methanol to oil molar ratio, 1.5 (wt %) calcined calcium oxide as catalyst, temperature of 65 ​°C for 3 ​h at 500 ​rpm to yield maximum biodiesel of 93% and 97% from BMSO and GMSO respectively. The methyl esters of BMSO and GMSO are characterized by spectroscopic techniques like FT-IR and 1H NMR. The fuel properties of Bauhinia malabrica methyl esters (BMME) and Gymnosporia montana methyl esters (GMME) are determined and are compared with biodiesel presently in practice and petro-diesel and further authenticated with ASTM D 6751 and EN 14214 limits.