Transition Metal Oxide Nanoparticles for Biofuel Production

Authors P.P. Gohain , S. Paul
Affiliations

Advanced Materials Research and Energy Application Laboratory (AMREAL), Department of Energy Engineering, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, 793022, India

Е-mail paulsamrat17@gmail.com
Issue Volume 14, Year 2022, Number 3
Dates Received 24 May 2022; revised manuscript received 24 June 2022; published online 30 June 2022
Citation P.P. Gohain, S. Paul, J. Nano- Electron. Phys. 14 No 3, 03005 (2022)
DOI https://doi.org/10.21272/jnep.14(3).03005
PACS Number(s) 77.84.Bw, 74.62.Bf
Keywords Synthesis (27) , Biodiesel, Heterogeneous (2) , Transition metal oxide, Catalyst (5) , Reusability.
Annotation

The depletion of fossil fuels and population growth led to the search for alternative resources. Biodiesel is an alternative to fossil fuel. It can be obtained from plant oils, animal fats and waste cooking oil. Transesterification is a process used to synthesize biodiesel. Two types of catalysts are mainly responsible for the synthesis of biodiesel. These are homogenous and heterogeneous catalysts. Commercially homogenous catalysts are mostly used in industry for the synthesis of biodiesel. The homogenous catalyst needs water washing to remove impurities, and thus the production cost is high. The most important disadvantage is that the catalyst once used cannot be recovered. The heterogeneous catalyst has many advantages over homogenous catalyst such as reusability and needs no water wash. Among heterogeneous catalysts, transition metals can be used for biodiesel production. They come under the d-block in the periodic table. Many researchers reported the synthesis of biodiesel by transition metal oxide nanocatalysts. The transition metal oxide catalyst is a good substitute for the synthesis of biodiesel. They possess heterogeneous properties and have an advantage of reusability. Further, the transition metal oxide catalysts enhance the reaction rate and thus possess higher biodiesel yield.

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