Abstract:
Semiconductor-based photocatalysis is one of the most cost-effective and
environmentally friendly methods for producing biodiesel from oil. Due to the depletion
of fossil fuel resources, biodiesel is becoming more popular as an alternative fuel.
However, the utilization of waste cooking oil (WCO) as a biodiesel source material is
one of the most cost-effective techniques which also can practically minimize the raw
material cost. This study focuses on the synthesis of novel improved photocatalyst TiO2
/ g-C3N4 composite for the conversion of WCO into Biodiesel through transesterification.
XRD, SEM, EDS, TGA, and UV-VIS are used to characterize the photocatalyst that has
been synthesized. The TiO2 nanoparticles are ascribed to the anatase phase, according to
XRD. With increasing g-C3N4 concentration, the band gap of the TiO2/g-C3N4 composite
decreases, making the catalytic process more efficient. under photocatalytic conditions.
WCO was acid esterified before the transesterification reaction to lower the free fatty acid
content (below 3%). For transesterification reaction esterified WCO was used, at 60oC
with oil to methanol ratio of 1:9 and stirred for 1 hour, with different catalyst TiO2 / gC3N4 (10, 20 & 30%) with different catalyst concentrations (1, 2, and 3%). The results
showed that TiO2 / 20% g-C3N4 with 2% catalyst concentration has the highest yield of
biodiesel production (89.5%) as compared to other catalyst concentrations used. The
presence of certain characteristic peaks in biodiesel and Petro-diesel is confirmed by
FTIR analysis, while the GC-MS analysis reveals that obtained biodiesel is rich in
monounsaturated fatty acid. Other fuel properties density, viscosity, flashpoint, acid
value, and pH of produced biodiesel were compared with American (ASTM- D6571) fuel
standards. TiO2 / g-C3N4 a semiconductor material that can be used as a photocatalyst, it
could be a veritable material for biodiesel production from WCO.
