Usage of Silica Xerogel from African Sugarcane Leaves as a Catalyst in Biodiesel Production through Transesterification.

ABSTRACT: Biodiesel was produced through transesterification from canola oil and methanol in the presence of silica xerogel derived from sugar cane leaves as a solid catalyst. The transesterification reaction was carried out at 65 °C in a batch-type reactor where a three-neck round-bottom flask was used as a reaction vessel with a reflux setup. Reaction time, methanol to oil ratio, and weight percentage of the catalyst were varied to optimize the biodiesel yield. The xerogel catalyst was characterized by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), nitrogen physisorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The produced biodiesel was characterized using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS), Fourier tr

SUBMITTER: Maseko NN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12242668 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature