Production of Biodiesel from Municipal Primary Sewage Sludge Via Transesterification Process Using Nanocomposite

Biodiesel has its unique role in the field of renewable, biodegradable and alternative source of energy due to energy crisis and fuel demand. Biodiesel consists of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) produced from various lipid sources in which municipal primary sewage sludge acts as a potential substrate for lipids. The primary sludge consists of the mixture of floating grease and solids collected at the bottom of the primary settling tanks after screening and grit removal. In this study, biodiesel is produced from municipal primary sewage sludge using CZO nanocomposite. The synthesized nanocomposite is characterized under UV–VIS spectrophotometer, FTIR, XRD and FESEM. The synthesized copper-doped zinc oxide nanocomposite has an average size of 18.54 nm. The XRD pattern indicates the substitution of zinc oxide in the hexagonal lattice of copper nanocomposite. The maximum yield of biodiesel was 84% obtained. The concentration of nanocomposite was 8% (w/w) concentration at 60 °C temperature and 40 min reaction time considered as optimum. Hence, good catalytic activity and reusability of nanocomposite prove copper-doped zinc oxide as a potential heterogeneous nanocomposite for biodiesel production from sewage sludge.