Sustainable Production of Biodiesel from Novel and Non-Edible Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Seed Oil from Green and Recyclable Potassium Hydroxide Activated Ailanthus Cake and Cadmium Sulfide Catalyst

Munazza Jabeen, Mamoona Munir, Muhammad Mujtaba Abbas (), Mushtaq Ahmad, Amir Waseem, Muhammad Saeed, Md Abul Kalam, Muhammad Zafar, Shazia Sultana, Abdullah Mohamed and Bisha Chaudhry
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Munazza Jabeen: Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan
Mamoona Munir: Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan
Muhammad Mujtaba Abbas: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, New Campus Lahore, Lahore 54890, Pakistan
Mushtaq Ahmad: Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan
Amir Waseem: Department of Chemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan
Muhammad Saeed: Department of Chemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan
Md Abul Kalam: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, FEIT, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia
Muhammad Zafar: Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan
Shazia Sultana: Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan
Abdullah Mohamed: Research Centre, Future University in Egypt, New Cairo 11835, Egypt
Bisha Chaudhry: Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 17, 1-12

Abstract: Heterogeneous catalyst prepared from Ailanthus altissima oil cake along with cadmium sulphide catalyst proved to be an efficient, cost-effective and sustainable source of biodiesel synthesis from Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) seed oil. Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) is a non-edible wild plant having significant oil content of 40%, being an ideal low cost and sustainable source of biodiesel production. After extraction of oil from the seeds, the remaining Ailanthus cake was treated through different techniques to be used as a novel heterogeneous catalyst. Free fatty acid content of the seeds was measured as 0.7%, which is very reasonable for effective trans-esterification process. The potassium hydroxide (KOH)-activated Ailanthus cake (KAC), calcined Ailanthus cake (CAC) and cadmium sulphide nanoparticles (CdS) were characterised with different techniques such as SEM at different magnifications, XRD and EDX. These catalysts were effectively utilised for biodiesel production owing to promising reusability, cost-effective and eco-friendly behaviour. For trans-esterification of Ailanthus altissima oil (AAO), the operating conditions on which maximum biodiesel yield obtained were 3:1 methanol to oil molar ratio, 0.5 wt.% catalyst concentration, 90 min reaction time, 60 °C and 600 rpm. The fuel properties of biodiesel obtained from Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) were also determined and analysed in detail. These properties, such as viscosity, density, pour point and cloud point, fall within the limits set by international standards of biodiesel.

Keywords: Ailanthus altissima seeds; biodiesel; calcined Ailanthus cake; CdS; non-edible oils (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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