Characterization and optimization of used cooking oil for biodiesel production using response surface methodology Khadijah Aminu Umar 1 , Muhammadu Abdulsalam 2 1 Bayero University Kano, Nigeria and 2 University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom This work focuses on optimization and characterization of alkali catalysis as a process for producing biodiesel from used cooking oil. The cooking oil was transesterified using potassium hydroxide (KOH) and methanol to obtain biodiesel and purified using solvent-solvent extraction and characterized using thin layer chromatography, FTIR and physiochemical properties. The physicochemical analysis of the used cooking oil showed acid value of 29mgNaOH/g, free fatty acid (FFA) value of 14.5, density 0.91 g/cm3. The presence of high free fatty acid in the oil feed indicate that the preferred catalyst to be used is heterogeneous catalyst. Biodiesel production parameters that were optimized were alcohol to oil ratio, catalyst concentration, reaction temperature, and reaction time response surface methodology (RSM) based on central composite design (CCD) was used. The predictions were analyzed and the most suitable parameters for biodiesel production were selected. From the results the optimum parameters for biodiesel production were a reaction temperature of 60oC, a reaction time of 60 minutes, a catalyst concentration of 0.3g potassium hydroxide, and 3:20 methanol to oil ratio. The optimum yield of biodiesel from these parameters was predicted to be 100%. The physiochemical properties of the produced biodiesel: specific gravity and pH were found to be 0.891 and 7.60 and for biodiesel blends (B100, B80 and B20) are 0.891, 0.842 and 0.839 with pH 7.60, 7.81 and 5.5 respectively, the fuel properties from the biodiesel compared with the diesel showed that the biodiesel could be used alone or in blends with diesel to power diesel engines. The biodiesel produced was characterized using physiochemical Analysis, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC). References 1. Khadijah Aminu Umar 2. Muhammadu Abdulsalam
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