Preparation and characterization of Cs/Al/Fe3O4 nanocatalysts for biodiesel production

Cs/Al/Fe3O4 nanocatalysts were prepared via novel synthesis method. This research investigated the effects of different Cs/Al and Cs/Fe molar ratio and calcination conditions on the catalytic performance of Cs/Al/Fe3O4 catalysts for biodiesel FAME (fatty acids methyl ester) production. It was found that the catalyst with Cs/Al = 2.5/1 and Cs/Fe = 4/1 molar ratio was an optimal catalyst for biodiesel production. The activity of optimal catalyst was studied in different operational conditions. The results showed that the best operational conditions were the oil/CH3OH = 1/14 at 58 °C with mechanical stirring for 120 min. Furthermore, the optimal catalyst showed high catalytic activity for biodiesel production and the biodiesel yield reached 94.8% under the optimal conditions. Characterization of catalysts was carried out by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray dif fraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and N2 adsorption–desorption measurements methods.