Sono-Chemical Biodiesel Production From Beef Processing Industrial Sludge in The Presence of Nano-KF-Al2O3

KF-Al2O3 nano-catalyst is prepared by a co-precipitation method and used in transesterification process. The process is assisted by ultrasonic irradiation to produce biodiesel from beef processing industrial sludge. The synthesized catalyst is characterized by SEM, XRD and FTIR. A maximum yield of 97% fatty acid methyl ester (biodiesel) is obtained under optimum conditions at 15:1 methanol to oil molar ratio with a catalytic loading of 6 wt% at 60 °C in 180 min. The reusability results showed that prepared nano-catalyst can be recycled up to seven times with minor loss in efficiency. This was mainly due to the enhancement of surface area of the catalyst and the activity of ultrasonic wave. The fuel quality of the biodiesel is analyzed as per ASTM standard and results are found to be in line with ASTM D6751.