Synthesis and Characterization of CaO-TiO2 for Transesterification of Vegetable Palm Oil

This study explores the potential of titanium oxide impregnated on calcium oxide (CaO-TiO2) as catalyst in transesterification of vegetable palm oil (VPO) to produce biodiesel. The biodiesel yield increased with catalyst calcination temperature and reaction time, and the usage of CaO-TiO2 led to higher biodiesel production when compared to reaction catalyzed by CaO. Biodiesel yield of 93.33% was recorded when CaO-TiO2 was used at optimized reaction conditions. Catalyst characterizations showed that addition of TiO2 to CaO improved the catalytic property by increasing the surface area and strength of basic sites, hence increased the catalytic performance of TiO2-CaO. This study demonstrates the potential of CaO-TiO2 to convert VPO into biodiesel, and the potential of the catalyst in conversion of waste cooking oil into renewable fuel will be studied.