Utilization of Musa acuminata blossom peel waste mediated heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel production from sesame oil

Abstract

The peel waste of the Musa acuminata blossom after fruit maturation was used for the preparation of a heterogeneous catalyst. The prepared catalyst was utilised for the transesterification of sesame oil (oil from Sesamum indicum L.) to biodiesel. The catalyst was calcined at 550 °C for 2 h and then characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), powder X-ray diffractometry (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The EDX studies showed that the peels of Musa acuminata blossom ash had a high potassium content with a good yield of 97% biodiesel efficiency with 9 wt% catalyst load. The biodiesel was characterized by FTIR, and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) analytical methods. The fuel properties were also evaluated and compared with to the International Standards of ASTM and EN.