Activation of Nano Kaolin Clay for Bio-Glycerol Conversion to a Valuable Fuel Additive

Imtisal Zahid, Muhammad Ayoub, Bawadi Bin Abdullah, Muhammad Hamza Nazir, Zulqarnain, Mariam Ameen Kaimkhani and Farooq Sher
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Imtisal Zahid: HICoE—Center for Biofuel and Biochemical Research, Institute of Self-Sustainable Building, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia
Muhammad Ayoub: HICoE—Center for Biofuel and Biochemical Research, Institute of Self-Sustainable Building, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia
Bawadi Bin Abdullah: HICoE—Center for Biofuel and Biochemical Research, Institute of Self-Sustainable Building, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia
Muhammad Hamza Nazir: HICoE—Center for Biofuel and Biochemical Research, Institute of Self-Sustainable Building, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia
Zulqarnain: HICoE—Center for Biofuel and Biochemical Research, Institute of Self-Sustainable Building, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia
Mariam Ameen Kaimkhani: HICoE—Center for Biofuel and Biochemical Research, Institute of Self-Sustainable Building, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia
Farooq Sher: School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Automotive Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Environmental and Computing, Coventry University, Coventry CV1 5FB, UK

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 5, 1-17

Abstract: High production of biodiesel results in a surplus of glycerol as a byproduct that leads to a drastic decline in the glycerol price as well as overall biodiesel production. Alternative methods must be introduced for the economical process for biodiesel production via utilization of crude glycerol into valuable chemicals or fuel additives. This study introduces an ecofriendly process of solketal synthesis from glycerol and acetone in the presence of a novel metakaolin clay catalyst, which is a useful additive in biodiesel or gasoline, in order to enhance the octane number and to control the emissions. Moreover, kaolin clay catalysts are low cost, abundantly available, eco-friendly and one of the more promising applications for solketal synthesis. In this study, raw kaolin clay was activated with an easy acid activation technique, modification in physicochemical and textural properties were determined by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope. Among all acid-treated catalysts, metakaolin K3 have shown best catalytic properties, high surface area and pore size after acid activation with 3.0 mol/dm 3 at 98 °C for 3 h. Acetalization of glycerol with acetone carried out in the presence of an environmentally friendly and inexpensive novel metakaolin K3 catalyst. The maximum yield of solketal obtained was 84% at a temperature of 50 °C, acetone/glycerol molar ratio 6/1 and for 90 min with novel metakaolin clay catalyst. Effect of various parameters (time, temperature, acetone/glycerol molar ratio, catalyst loading) on the solketal yield and glycerol conversion was discussed in detail. This approach offers an effective way to transform glycerol into solketal—a desirable green chemical with future industrial applications.

Keywords: sustainable environment; crude glycerol; acid treated kaolin; solketal; acetalization and renewable fuels (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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