A recyclable solid catalyst of KF/Ca-Mg-Al-O using for biodiesel production from jatropha seed oil: preparation, characterization, and methanolysis process optimization

A recyclable heterogeneous KF/Ca-Mg-Al-O catalyst was prepared by co-precipitation and calcination processes. The characteristics of the catalyst were investigated using FTIR, XRD, TG-DTG and SEM. Response surface methodology was utilized to obtain the best most extreme biodiesel production yield. The ideal biodiesel production conditions were: the amount of catalyst was 3 wt%; the reaction temperature was 65 °C; the alcohol oil molar ratio 9.8:1, the reaction time was 3.5 h. Under these amended conditions, the average biodiesel yield was 95.19%, which is well in close concurrence with the worth anticipated by the model. The repeatability of catalysts was studied. After using the catalyst seven times, the catalytic efficiency was only reduced by 2.7%. These results indicate that the catalyst has good catalytic efficiency and is recyclable.