Production of biodiesel from used cooking oil using blood cockle shell (Anadara Granosa) ash as catalyst

Abstract

Abstract Biodiesel is renewable energy that can be renewed, biodegradable and enviromentally friendly. Transesterification is a reaction which is used to produce biodiesel where this reaction uses catalyst which was made from blood cockle shell ash which has been combusted at the temperature of 850°C for 3 hours and the amount of the ash being used was 8%, 10% and 12% (m/m). The ash used was dissolved into methanol with the mole ratio of methanol to oil of 9:1, 12:1 (n/n) to obtain calcium methoxide. Used oil was filtered then esterificated by 3% of catalyst (m/m), H2SO4 98% and methanol:oil TG (6:1) to reduce the FFA until it is less than 1%. Transesterification was done at the reaction temperature of 65°C for 3 hours and constantly stirred at the speed of 700 rpm. Quantitatively, optimum biodiesel yield obtained was 56.51% at the condition of 12% (m/m) of blood cockle ash, 12:1 mole ratio of methanol to used oil. The specification of the biodiesel such as density, kinematic viscosity and flash point at this condition matched the standard of biodiesel SNI 04-7182-2006 and according to gas chromatography analysis, the purity of the biodiesel produced is 98.79%.