Membrane reactor for production of biodiesel from nonedible seed oil of Trachyspermum ammi using heterogenous green nanocatalyst of manganese oxide

Abstract

Conventional homogeneous-based catalyzed transesterification for the production of biodiesel can be replaced with a membrane reactor that has an immobilized heterogeneous catalyst. Combining reaction with separation while utilizing membranes with a certain pore size might boost conversion process. this investigation to study the effectiveness of membrane reactor in combination with heterogeneous green nano catalysis of MnO₂. Techniques such as XRD, EDX, FTIR, SEM, and TGA were used to characterize the synthesized MnO₂ nano catalyst. The highest conversion of around 94% Trachyspermum ammi oil was obtained by MnO₂. The optimum process variables for maximum conversion were catalyst loading of 0.26 (wt.%), 8:1 M ratio, 90 °C reaction temperature, and time 120 min. The green nano catalyst of MnO₂ was reusable up to five cycles with minimum loss in conversion rate of about 75% in the fifth cycle. Nuclear magnetic resonance validated the synthesis of methyl esters. It was concluded that membrane reactor a promising technique to efficiently transesterify triglycerides into methyl esters and enable process intensification uses MnO₂ as a catalyst.

Keywords: Biodiesel; Manganese oxide; Membrane reactor; Nanoparticles; Trachyspermum ammi oil.