Renewable energy production from novel and non-edible seed oil of Cordia dichotoma using nickel oxide nano catalyst

Authors: ROZINA - Quaid-I-university Islamabad; AHMAD, MUSHTAQ - Quaid-I-university Islamabad; Qureshi, Nasib; ZAFAR, MUHAMMAD - Quaid-I-university Islamabad; ULLAH, SHER AMAN - Quaid-I-university Islamabad; UL ABIDIN, SHEIKH ZAIN - Gomal University

Submitted to: Fuel
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/24/2022
Publication Date: 10/2/2022
Citation: Rozina, Ahmad, M., Qureshi, N., Zafar, M., Ullah, S.A., Ul Abidin, S.Z. 2022. Renewable energy production from novel and non-edible seed oil of Cordia dichotoma using nickel oxide nano catalyst. Fuel. 332(1). Article 126123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2022.126123.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2022.126123

Interpretive Summary: Production of biodiesel is limited by feedstock availability. Cordia dichotoma (belongs to Boraginaceae family), also known as Clammy Cherry, grows around the world in warmer areas. It is a small to moderate sized deciduous tree and of interest because it produces a seed with high oil content. In the present studies, its oil was used to produce biodiesel as a renewable biofuel. This involved recovering the oil and chemically reacting it with methanol (an alcohol) to convert the oil to biodiesel. In a twist, this chemical reaction was carried out using novel nickel oxide nano particles that were produced with a specially selected dried plant extract. Unlike the traditional catalyst, it can be re-used. For biodiesel production, the reaction was performed using methanol and oil at various ratios and the highest observed yield was 94% (at a methanol to oil ratio of 7:1). The fuel properties of the produced biodiesel met international fuel standards. This work will benefit the biodiesel industry by making available another source of oil to expand production and benefit the American public by meeting demand for biofuels.

Technical Abstract: Renewable energy sources such as biodiesel have gained attention due to their pollution free and eco-friendly nature. The use of heterogenous nanocatalyst is preferred in biodiesel production to their ease of recovery and recyclability. In this study, biodiesel was produced from nonedible Cordia dichotoma seed oil using NiO nanocatalyst. NiO nanocatalyst was prepared with aqueous leaf extract of Anagallis arvensis L. Innovative techniques like X-ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, energy diffraction X-ray and thermogravimetric analysis were applied to analyse Nickel oxide nanoparticles. The maximum biodiesel yield of 94 % was calculated from methanol to oil molar ratio of 7:1, catalyst loading 0.16 (wt.%), reaction time 115 min and temperature 80 °C. Nuclear magnetic resonance confirmed the production of methyl ester (1H NMR and 13C NMR). The results of Gas Chromatography/Mass spectroscopy signified four distinctive peaks of methyl esters with 9-Octadecenoic acid methyl ester was identified as the major fatty acid methyl ester. Determined fuel properties of Cordia dichotoma methyl ester such as viscosity (8.24 mm2/s), density (0.962 kg/m3), flash point (99 °C) cloud point (-8 °C) and pour point (-10 °C) were comparable with international standards of ASTM D-6571, EN 14214 and China GB/T 20828-2007. Minimum sulfur content of 0.0001 % has elucidated the eco-friendly and clean nature of synthesized biodiesel of Cordia dichotoma.