Preparation of solid acid catalysts from waste biomass and their application for microwave-assisted biodiesel production from waste palm oil

Synthesis and Characterization of Phosphoric Silica Catalyst from Bamboo Leaves for Production of Triacetin

In this research, the bamboo leaf shows promise as an alternative raw material for silica production. This study investigated the performance of heterogeneous catalyst prepared from silica derived bamboo leaf ash after that impregnated with phosphoric acid at ratio various. The catalyst was characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscope Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), Brunauer Emmet Teller (BET) and Barrett, Joyner and Halenda (BJH) method and triacetin product analyzed by GC-MS. The optimum condition phosphoric silica catalyst was obtained at phosphoric silica molar ratio of 1:2 and employed in the acetylation of glycerol, respectively. As result, 24 % selectivity for triacetin was obtained in the presence of catalytic amount 5%, molar ratio 1:9 at 100 °C for 4 hours. Bamboo leaf derived phosphoric silica calcined showed high potential to be used as an easy to prepare and high-performance solid catalyst for industrial scale.

Development of Microwave-Assisted Sulfonated Glucose Catalyst for Biodiesel Production from Palm Fatty Acid Distillate (PFAD)

Microwave-heating method for catalyst preparation has been utilized recently due to its shorter operation time compared to the conventional method. Glucose, a renewable carbon source can be partially carbonized and sulfonated via microwave heating which could result in highly potential heterogeneous carbon-based acid catalyst. In this study, the impacts of the carbonization and sulfonation parameters during the catalyst preparation were investigated. Catalysts prepared were characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET), and Temperature Programmed Desorption–Ammonia (TPD-NH3). Analysis of the carbonization screening process discovered that the best incomplete carbonized glucose (ICG) prepared was at 20 minutes, 20 g of D(+)-glucose with medium microwave power level (400W) which exhibited the highest percentage yield (91.41%) of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). The total surface area and acid site density obtained were 16.94 m2/g and 25.65 mmol/g, respectively. Regeneration test was further carried out and succeeded to achieve 6 cycles. The highest turnover frequency (TOF) of the sulfonated catalyst was methyl palmitate, 25.214´10−3 s−1 compared to other component of the methyl ester. Kinetic study was developed throughout the esterification process and activation energy from the forward and reverse reaction was 3.36 kJ/mol and 11.96 kJ/mol, respectively. Copyright © 2021 by Authors, Published by BCREC Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). 

Preparation of Carbon-Based Solid Acid Catalysts Using Rice Straw Biomass and Their Application in Hydration of α-Pinene

Carbon-based solid acid catalysts were prepared using rice straw (RS) waste, and the effects of carbonization temperature and sulfonation temperature on the catalytic activity were investigated. The properties of the catalysts were characterized using thermo gravimetric (TG), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Brunauer–Emmet–Teller (BET), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and their activities were investigated through the hydration of α-pinene. The conversion of α-pinene and the selectivity of α-terpineol reached 67.60% and 57.07% at 80 °C and atmospheric pressure in 24 h, respectively. The high catalytic capacity of the catalyst is attributed to the high acid site density and high porosity of the catalyst. TPD analysis and FT-IR spectroscopy showed that the catalyst produced by low-temperature carbonization at 300 °C followed by low-temperature sulfonation at 80 °C had abundant strong acid sites (0.82 mmol/g), which can effectively inhibit the side reactions of hydrated α-pinene. The total acidity reached 2.87 mmol/g. N2-physisorption analysis clearly indicated that the obtained catalysts were mesopore-predominant materials, and the SBET and VTotal of catalysts reached 420.9 m2/g and 4.048 cm3/g, respectively. Preparation of the catalyst involves low energy consumption, and its cheap raw materials make the whole process simple, economical, and environmentally friendly.