Application of ultrasound technology in the intensification of biodiesel production from bitter almond oil (BAO) in the presence of biocompatible heterogeneous catalyst synthesized from camel bone

Abstract

Although biofuels have many benefits, but their production costs are high. This challenge has caused researches to use waste materials and apply technologies to lower the cost of producing these fuels. In this study, a biocompatible heterogeneous catalyst created from calcining camel bones is employed to make biodiesel fuel from non-edible bitter almond oil (BAO). Additionally, using ultrasound technology was one way to increase the effectiveness of the biodiesel synthesis process. Additionally, the effects of the independent variables alcohol to oil molar ratio (6:1, 11:1, and 16:1), reaction time (10, 20, and 30 minutes), ultrasonic power (30, 65, and 100%), catalyst loading (4, 8, and 12 oil wt%), and reaction time (10, 20, and 30 minutes) on the production of methyl ester from BAO were examined. Camel bones were calcined at 400, 700, and 1000°C for 2, 3, and 4 hours. Optimum temperature and time conditions for camel bones calcination with maximum methyl ester production of 88% were obtained at 1000°C and 3 hours after measuring the morphology structure of camel bones catalyst using XRD and TGA methods. The maximum biodiesel conversion rate of 92.3% was obtained using the calcined catalyst with a molar ratio of 11:1, a catalyst loading of 8%, an ultrasonic power of 100%, and a reaction time of 20 minutes. Using the response surface methodology, tests and optimization were performed by Design-Expert software. Biodiesel yield and energy consumption were 88.13% and 248.18 kJ in the optimal conditions suggested by the software with the conditions of maximum production and minimum energy consumption with appropriate weighting. According to the results, waste camel bone can be used as a cost-effective biocompatible source with favorable catalytic activity for biodiesel fuel production.