Alginate-CMC/Fe₃O₄-CaO nanocomposite as a catalyst for synthesis of biodiesel from waste cooking oil

Biodiesel as a renewable fuel was found as an environmentally friendly alternative for fossil fuels. In this work, a green heterogeneous catalyst, a combination of Alginate and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) biopolymer and Fe3O4-CaO supported by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used as a catalyst for biodiesel production from waste cooking oil (WCO) through transesterification reaction. The maximum biodiesel yield obtained was 89.30 % with catalyst loading of 0.9 wt.% and reaction time of 2 h by using Alginate-CMC/Fe3O4-CaO nanocomposites. Properties of the obtained biodiesel (density and acid number) were close to the international standards (SNI and ASTM). These results indicate that alginate-CMC biopolymer can be utilized as a support catalyst derived from the biodegradable raw materials and is renewable and green as promising for heterogeneous catalysts in biodiesel production.