A STUDY TO EVALUATE OPTIMAL CATALYST PROPERTIES SOURCED FROM BIOWASTE FOR HYDRO PROCESSING OF USED COOKING OIL INTO GREEN DIESEL

The need for alternative fuels to replace fossil-based fuels has been given more attention by various stakeholders. Commercial catalysts are a major component required for hydro processing of vegetable oil into hydrocarbon. However, the high cost of commercial catalysts hinders the commercialization of green diesel. This research work investigates the viability of biowaste fly ash collected from Eskom with supports like SiO2, Al2O3, and CaO. These three support catalysts and BBTPPFS were pulverized, calcinated, and subjected to Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, thermal, spectroscopic, scanning electron microscope. A significant increase in the value of catalytic properties was noticed when 60 g BBTPPFS (sample D) was reinforced by adding 40 g of SiO2 (Sample A) to obtain sample A1. The value of the micropore volume of -0.0001 cm3 increased to 0.0014 cm3, and the surface area(external) increased from 0.8611 to 41.2571 m2/g, total surface area 0.5928 to 45.2771 m2/g and pore volume of 0.0053 increased to 0.1564 cm3/g. This combination showed properties that reveal it to be a potential green catalyst for hydrogenation and capable of mild cracking to achieve a green diesel range of C15-C18.