Biodiesel production from waste cooking oil in presence of modified waste eggshell catalyst via microwave heating

Abstract. This study compares the efficiency of producing biodiesel from waste cooking oil (WCO) utilizing modified eggshell based calcium oxide (CaO) catalysts improved with magnesium-aluminum hydrotalcite to pure eggshell based CaO by microwave-heated transesterification. The study optimized process parameters for a methanol to oil molar ratio of 9:1 at 65°C for 30 minutes, with the goal of enhancing catalyst stability and basicity for effective biodiesel synthesis. The study demonstrated that the eggshell based CaO/Mg-Al catalyst was better in biodiesel yield (89.44%) than the pure eggshell based CaO and exhibited improved stability and catalytic activity through gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis for fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) composition and biodiesel yield.