A Two-Step SO3H/ICG Catalyst Synthesis for Biodiesel Production: Optimization of Sulfonation Step via Microwave Irradiation

Conventional heating, a common method used for heterogeneous solid acid catalyst synthesis unknowingly consumes massive time and energy. In this study, was prepared through sulfonation process of incomplete carbonized glucose (ICG) via microwave-assisted technique to shorten the heating energy consumption. Optimization ICG carried out. Four-factor-three-level central composite design (CCD) develop experiments (DOE). Interaction between two factors evaluated determine optimum conditions. A quadratic model proposed prediction biodiesel yield (Y) from palm fatty distillate (PFAD) its conversion (C). The application DOE successfully optimized operating conditions two-step SO3H/ICG be esterification process. best performing with maximum Y C were at 7.5 minutes reaction time, 159.5 mL H2SO4 used, 671 rpm stirring rate as well 413.64 watt power level. At these predicted percentage 94.01% 91.89%, respectively, which experimentally verified accuracy model. utilization sulfonated in production has great potential towards sustainable green synthesizing biodiesel. Copyright © 2021 by Authors, Published BCREC Group. This is an open access article under CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).