Catalytic Conversion of Beef Tallow to Biofuels using MgO Nanoparticles Green Synthesized by Zingiber officinale Roscoe Rhizome Extract

MgO nanoparticles (MgONPs) have been successfully synthesized using ZOE (Zingiber officinale Roscoe extract in water) and applied for catalytic conversion of beef tallow to biogasoline, kerosene, and diesel. ZOE was used due to containing the alkaloid as a weak base source to hydrolyze Mg(NO3)2 precursor and form the MgONPs. The synthesized MgONPs were characterized using UV-Vis spectrophotometer, X-ray diffraction (XRD), particle size analyzer (PSA), Brunauer−Emmett−Teller (BET) surface areas. UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectrophotometry (DRS), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The catalyst activity was performed to convert beef tallow to biofuel in the stainless-steel reactors at 300 ᵒC for 60 min. The conversion results of beef tallow were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The beef tallow conversion shows that all fatty acids derived from beef tallow are converted to gases and liquids fractions. The conversion using a catalyst to feed weight ratio of 4 wt. % produced the liquid fractions containing the dominant alkanes (62.85%) and cyclic compounds (18.77%). Pentadecane and Heptadecane are liquid products' main compounds, indicating a decarboxylation reaction.