Environmentally Friendly New Catalyst Using Waste Alkaline Solution from Aluminum Production for the Synthesis of Biodiesel in Aqueous Medium

Abstract

Red mud (RM) is composed of a waste alkaline solution (pH = 13.3) obtained from the production of alumina. It contains high concentrations of hematite (Fe₂O₃), goethite (FeOOH), gibbsite [Al(OH)₃], a boehmite (AlOOH), anatase (Tetragonal-TiO₂), rutile (Ditetragonal dipyramidal-TiO₂), hydrogarnets [Ca₃Al₂(SiO₄)_3-x(OH)_4x], quartz (SiO₂), and perovskite (CaTiO₃). It was shown to be an excellent catalytic mixture for biodiesel production. To demonstrate the value of RM, an environmentally friendly process of transesterification in aqueous medium using waste cooking oil (WCO), MeOH, and waste alkaline solution (WAS) obtained from aluminum production was proposed. Triglycerides of WCO reacted with MeOH at 60 °C to yield mixtures of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) in the presence of 0.019% (w/w) WAS/WCO using the WAS (0.204 mol L^-1, predetermined by potentiometric titration) from aluminum production by the Bayer process. The use of the new catalyst (WAS) resulted in a high yield of the products (greater than 99% yield).

Keywords: basic catalyst; bayer residue; contaminants; environmentally friendly processes; fatty acid methyl ester; red mud; waste management.