The thermal stability of sodium metal catalyst supported by activated carbon / Nurzaidatul Adilla Zainal

A material is thermally stable if a substance does not break down when it heated up. The thermal stability of a substance can be determined using a thermogravimetric analyser (TGA). Catalyst is a substance that starts and speeds up the chemical reaction without changing the reactions itself. There is a limit on how many times the catalyst can be used before it worn out or turn into ashes due to the high temperature. This research focuses on determining the effect of the ratio on the mass loss of carbonized oil palm kernel shell (OPKS) and Na metal catalyst. There are few steps involve in this study. The OPKS needs to undergo the preparation of the raw materials where the OPKS needs to be cleaned from unwanted impurities after being collected from the palm oil industry. Next, the OPKS will be put into the furnace for physical activation and turned into activated carbon. Lastly, the process was continued with the wet impregnation process for the catalyst preparation. The TGA result determined that 1:3 is the best ratio of Na/Ac catalyst with a good thermal stability and lowest the mass loss. Thus, the result concludes that the best ratio should be used when dealing for transesterification of fatty acid methyl ester production.