Impregnation of CaO from Eggshell Waste with Magnetite as a Solid Catalyst (Fe3O4/CaO) for Transesterification of Palm Oil Off-Grade

In this work, calcium oxide (CaO) extracted from eggshell impregnated with magnetite (Fe3O4) is prepared successfully and it had been applied on transesterification of palm oil off-grade. Prior experiment, the eggshells material are powdered and calcined at 900 °C then impregnated with Fe3O4 and recalcined. The obtained Fe3O4/CaO catalyst is characterized using X-ray diffraction and Braunaeur–Emmet–Teller (BET) surface area. The influence of various parameters including recalcined time and temperature are investigated. The prepared catalyst is tested for transesterification of palm oil off-grade to produce biodiesel in which the optimal conditions of a methanol/palm oil off-grade molar ratio of 10:1, the catalyst weight of 6%, the reaction temperature of 70 °C, and the reaction time of 2 h. The transesterification product was analyzed using GC-MS, which showed the biodiesel yield of 90% at the recalcined temperature of 600 °C and reaction time of 2 h. It has been noted that the catalyst activity is achieved when the moderate recalcination temperature is applied and the disordered structure of the catalyst is maintained. This study also confirms that CaO impregnated with Fe3O4 could be a solid catalyst for the biodiesel synthesis through transesterification reaction of palm oil off-grade.