Catalytic transesterification of waste cooking oil into biodiesel using various potassium based Al2O3 catalyst / Muhammad Amirrul Hakim Lokman Nolhakim

The waste cooking oil, WCO (from household area taman scientex, Pasir Gudang) obtained was found to have low in free fatty acids (<2%) and will undergo a transesterification process directly by using potassium salt as based catalyst. Potassium carbonate (K2CO3) and potassium hydroxide (KOH) as potassium-based salt precursor was chosen and immobilized onto the surface of Al2O3, the catalyst was named as K2CO3/Al2O3 and KOH/Al2O3. The catalyst was prepared via incipient wetness impregnation (IWI) method. The perforated hydrophilic materials (PHM) that made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE) was used as the catalyst reactor bag. The prepared catalysts were investigated using TGA, XRD, BET, SEM-EDX, TPD and for leaching of the prepared catalyst was studied by using FTIR, ICP-AES and XRF analysis.