Sains Malaysiana 50(6)(2021): 1685-1695

http://doi.org/10.17576/jsm-2021-5006-15

Preliminary Study on Effect of Hydrothermal Temperature during TiO₂ Synthesis on the Biodiesel Production from Waste Cooking Oil

(Kajian Awal Kesan Suhu Hidroterma semasa Sintesis TiO₂ terhadap Penghasilan Biodiesel daripada Sisa Minyak Masak)

NURASHINA ABDUL RAHMAN¹, ANITA RAMLI^1,2* & CHONG FAI KAIT¹

¹Department of Fundamental and Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia

²HICoE, Centre for Biofuel and Biochemical Research, Institute of Self-Sustainable Building, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia

Received: 7 July 2020/Accepted: 20 October 2020

ABSTRACT

In the present work, effect of hydrothermal temperature from 120 to 160 °C on TiO₂ physicochemical properties as well as its photocatalytic activity towards biodiesel production using waste cooking oil (WCO) was investigated. TiO₂ was synthesized via hydrothermal method using Titanium butoxide, Ti(OBu)₄ as the precursor and nitric acid, HNO₃ as the peptizing agent. Next, the synthesized photocatalyst was dried at 60 °C for 24 h and later calcined at 400 °C for 2 h. The synthesized TiO₂ was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Burnauer- Emmet- Teller (BET) to determine their crystallinity and textural properties. Results showed that all synthesized TiO₂ have a mixture of anatase and rutile phase and N₂ adsorption- desorption isotherm for all catalyst possess Type IV isotherm according to IUPAC classification with hysteresis loop of type H1. Then, all the synthesized catalysts were tested for biodiesel production using esterified waste cooking oil under visible light irradiation for 1 h and 10 min. Percentage of fatty acid methyl ester (FAMEs) present in the synthesized biodiesel was determined using gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID). The synthesized catalyst (T24_160) showed a good photocatalytic activity as the percentage of biodiesel yield was higher (3.41%) compared to the other catalyst.

Keywords: Biodiesel; hydrothermal temperature; photocatalyst; physicochemical properties; TiO₂

ABSTRAK

Kesan suhu hidroterma daripada 120 sehingga 160 °C ke atas sifat fizikokimia TiO₂ serta aktiviti pemfotomangkinan terhadap penghasilan biodiesel dengan menggunakan minyak terpakai (WCO) telah dikaji. TiO₂ telah disintesis melalui kaedah hidroterma dengan menggunakan Titanium butoksida, Ti(OBu)₄ sebagai prekursor dan asid nitrik, HNO₃ sebagai agen peptitasi. Fotomangkin yang disintesis telah dikeringkan pada suhu 60 °C selama 24 jam dan kemudian telah terkalsin pada suhu 400 °C selama 2 jam. TiO₂ yang telah disintesis dicirikan menggunakan pembelauan sinar- X (XRD) dan Burnauer- Emmet- Teller (BET) untuk menentukan kehabluran dan sifat tekstur fotomangkin tersebut. Hasil kajian mendapati bahawa kesemua mangkin TiO₂ disintesis menunjukkan campuran fasa anatas dan rutil serta isoterma penjerapan-penyahjerapan N₂ menujukkan isoterma jenis IV berdasarkan pengelasan IUPAC dengan gelung histeresis jenis H1. Seterusnya, kesemua mangkin disintesis telah diuji untuk penghasilan biodiesel menggunakan minyak terpakai yang telah diesterifikasi di bawah sinaran cahaya nampak selama 1 jam 10 min. Peratus asid lemak metil ester (FAMEs) hadir di dalam biodiesel disintesis telah ditentukan dengan menggunakan gas kromatografi - pengesan pengionan nyala (GC- FID). Mangkin yang disintesis (T24_160) menunjukkan aktiviti pemfotomangkinan yang baik dengan peratusan hasil biodiesel lebih tinggi (3.41 %) berbanding dengan mangkin yang lain.

Kata kunci: Biodiesel; fotomangkin; sifat fizikokimia; suhu hidroterma; TiO₂

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*Corresponding author; email: anita_ramli@utp.edu.my