Optimization of used cottonseed oil methyl ester production using response surface methodology

Biodiesel is the term for used cottonseed oil (ucso), animal fat, and vegetable oil monoalkyl ester. because of its similar and compatible fuel properties to diesel fuel, biodiesel obtained from ucso is becoming more and more significant as an alternative fuel for use in diesel engines. the amount of free fatty acids (ffa) determines how biodiesel is produced from oil. in this study, the titration method was used to determine the ffa values of crude cottonseed oil (ccso) and ucso. these values were measured to be 0.56 % and 1.26 %, respectively. heterogeneous alkali catalyzed transesterification is used to convert ucso into biodiesel. it includes mixing methanol with ucso in the presence of heterogeneous catalysts that is blend calcined, hydrated, and dehydrated eggshells and coconut shells cao. the methanol-oil ratio, reaction temperature, reaction time, and catalyst concentration were the reaction factors that control the transesterification process. the box-behnken design response surface methodology was used to optimize the aforementioned parameters. plots of the response surface and contour have been made among numerous factors that affect the production of biodiesel. a 1:10 molar ratio, 2.5 wt. % catalyst concentration, 80 minutes of reaction time, and a reaction temperature of 60 °c result in an optimum ucsomethyl ester yield of 93.60 %. the experimental yield, which was calculated after the optimized yield, was found to be 94.50 % based on these parameters, thus showing the effectiveness of the response surface methodology as a tool for optimizing yield of biodiesel produced.