Steel Slag Decorated with Calcium Oxide and Cerium Oxide as a Solid Base for Effective Transesterification of Palm Oil

For further resource utilization of solid waste steel slag and the reduction in biodiesel production costs, this study used as a carrier to synthesize CaO-CeO2/slag base catalyst for effective transesterification palm oil into fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs). The synthesis involved two-step impregnation with nitrate calcium cerium thermal activation at 800 °C 180 min. Then, catalysts’ textural, chemical, CO2 temperature-programmed desorption properties were characterized. catalytic activity depended highly on ratio Ca-Ce mass; CaO-CeO2/slag-0.8 showed outstanding performance. Characterization that surface area total basicity Ca-Ce/slag-0.8 3.66 m2/g 1.289 mmol/g, respectively. reactivity results FAMEs obtained using 7 wt.% catalyst, 9:1 methanol-to-palm-oil molar ratio, min reaction duration, 70 temperature was optimum (i.e., 95.3% yield). In addition, could be reused least three cycles, retaining 91.2% yield after n-hexane washing. Hence, exhibits an excellent potential cost-effective environmentally friendly production.