Cr-Ti Mixed Oxides Catalyst for Transesterification of Cooking Palm Oil to Produce Fatty Acid Methyl Ester

Abstract

Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) or biodiesel is a renewable and environmentally friendly fuel that is alternative to diesel fuel. In this study, mixed oxides catalysts of Cr-Ti were synthesized via sol-gel method and utilized in the transesterification of cooking palm oil (CPO) in a batch process to produce FAME. The objectives were to study the effects of Cr:Ti metal ratio and aging time during catalyst preparation. The metal ratio Cr:Ti of 1:1, 1:2, 2:1, 0:1 and 1:0 and aging time between 1 day and 5 days contributed effects on the FAME density obtained from the reaction. The various metal ratios and aging time during catalyst synthesis had an impact on the catalyst's characteristics, including surface area, pore size, pore volume, and thermal stability. The results indicate that a Cr-Ti catalyst prepared at a 2:1 metal ratio and aged for 5 days has a FAME density of 854 kg/m³, which is within the range of biodiesel fuel property values. The catalyst has a surface area of 45.88 m²/g, pore size of 190.52 Å, and pore volume of 0.1984 cm³/g, which is sufficient to promote efficient heterogeneous catalytic activity while also being thermally stable. As a result, Cr-Ti mixed oxides have the potential to act as a heterogeneous catalyst in the production of FAME from the transesterification of CPO.