PRODUCTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF BIODIESEL FROM CASTOR SEED OIL USING COCOA POD ASH AS A CATALYST

A major problem retarding the commercialization of biodiesel is the derivation of catalysts and feedstock from high-cost materials. Hence, in order to mitigate such challenge, the following objective is being put forward: to extract and characterize castor oil, synthesize and characterize cocoa pod ash as the base catalyst before and after use, and apply the base catalyst for biodiesel production. The cocoa pods were thermally treated at 600 ℃ for 35 minutes in a muffle furnace, then it was sieved to obtain ash that is uniform in size distribution. The yield of castor oil extracted was 42 %. Also, the catalyst synthesized was found to possess good features that are capable of transesterifying the extracted oil. Afterward, the castor oil was used for the production of biodiesel with the aid of cocoa pod ash as a catalyst under the reaction conditions, 88 % yield of biodiesel was obtained. Characterization methods such as XRD, SEM, and FTIR were performed on the catalyst to confirm the presence of the active sites. The physico-chemical properties of the castor oil produced are consistent with literature values.