Pawpaw ( Carica papaya ) Peel Waste as a Novel Green Heterogeneous Catalyst for Moringa Oil Methyl Esters Synthesis: Process Optimization and Kinetic Study

Babatunde Oladipo, Tunde V Ojumu, Lekan M Latinwo and Eriola Betiku
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Babatunde Oladipo: Biochemical Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife 220005, Osun State, Nigeria
Tunde V Ojumu: Department of Chemical Engineering, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville Campus, Symphony Way, Bellville, Cape Town 7535, South Africa
Lekan M Latinwo: Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Tallahassee, FL 32307, USA
Eriola Betiku: Biochemical Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife 220005, Osun State, Nigeria

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 21, 1-25

Abstract: This study evaluated pawpaw ( Carica papaya ) peel ash as a green solid base catalyst for Moringa oleifera oil methyl esters (MOOME) production. Taguchi orthogonal array approach was used to examine the impact of vital process input variables (calcined pawpaw peel (CPP) loading, reaction temperature, methanol-to- M . oleifera oil (MeOH:MOO) molar ratio and reaction time) on the MOOME yield. Catalytic potency potential of the CPP was evaluated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. The results obtained indicate that the CPP consists of nanoparticles and alkaline elements K (23.89 wt.%), Ca (2.86 wt.%) and Mg (1.00 wt.%). The high values of coefficient of determination, R 2 (0.9992) and adjusted R 2 (0.9968) as well as the low value of the coefficient of variation (0.31%) for the model developed indicate it can be used to sufficiently describe the transesterification process. MOOME yield of 96.43 ± 0.10 wt.% was achieved at the optimum values of 3.5 wt.% CPP loading, 9:1 MeOH:MOO molar ratio, 35 °C reaction temperature and 40 min reaction time. The kinetic modeling of the transesterification process determined the reaction rate constant and overall reaction order as 0.20465 L·mol −1 ·s −1 and 2, respectively. The results of this study demonstrate both CPP and MOO are feasible renewable resources for MOOME production. The kinetic data generated may be useful in reactor design for the transesterification process.

Keywords: plant oil; agricultural waste; catalyst; Taguchi method; biodiesel; kinetics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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