Biodiesel Synthesis from Milk Thistle ( Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn.) Seed Oil using ZnO Nanoparticles as a Catalyst

Hammad Ahmad Jan, Igor Šurina (), Ahmed S. Al-Fatesh, Abdulaziz M. Almutlaq, Sher Wali and Anton Lisý
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Hammad Ahmad Jan: Department of Botany, University of Buner, Buner 19290, Pakistan
Igor Šurina: Department of Wood, Pulp and Paper, Institute of Natural and Synthetic Polymers, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Radlinského 9, 812 37 Bratislava, Slovakia
Ahmed S. Al-Fatesh: Chemical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Saud University, P.O. Box 800, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia
Abdulaziz M. Almutlaq: Chemical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Saud University, P.O. Box 800, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia
Sher Wali: Department of Botany, Islamia College Peshawar, Peshawar 19002, Pakistan
Anton Lisý: Department of Wood, Pulp and Paper, Institute of Natural and Synthetic Polymers, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Radlinského 9, 812 37 Bratislava, Slovakia

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 20, 1-18

Abstract: Biodiesel is considered valuable to reduce dependency on petrofuels. This work aimed to synthesize biodiesel from Silybum marianum using synthesized ZnO nanoparticles as a catalyst. The synthesized ZnO nanoparticles were examined by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction for confirmation. The synthesized biodiesel was confirmed by ASTM D-6751, H and C-NMR, GC-MS, and FT-IR spectroscopy. The optimum biodiesel yield of 91% was obtained with an oil-to-methanol ratio of 1:24, 15 mg of catalyst concentration, 60 °C temperature, and 45 min of reaction time. Fuel properties were determined according to the ASTM-defined methods and found within the defined limits of ASTM D-6751. 1 H-NMR and 13 C-NMR showed characteristic peaks at 3.667 ppm, 2.000–2.060 ppm, 0.858–0.918 ppm, 5.288–5.407 ppm, 24.93–34.22 ppm, 172.71, 173.12, 130.16 ppm, and 128.14 ppm, respectively, which confirm biodiesel synthesis. The FAMEs composition of biodiesel was determined by GC-MS, which recognized 19 peaks for different types of FAMEs. FT-IR spectroscopy showed two main peaks, first in the range of 1725–1750 cm −1 and second in the range of 1000–1300 cm −1 , which confirmed that the transesterification process had completed successfully. The physicochemical characteristics of Silybum marianum confirm that it is a suitable source to produce biodiesel on an industrial scale.

Keywords: biodiesel synthesis; nanoparticle synthesis; green catalyst synthesis; physicochemical analysis; Silybum marianum; nonedible feedstock (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: 2022
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