SYNTHESIS OF SODIUM GLYCEROXIDE CATALYST FOR BIODIESEL PRODUCTION

• Main Author: Latifa Rahmi, Puti
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/83329
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Fossil fuels are non-renewable resources, and their availability is rapidly diminishing if consumption is not curtailed. To address the domestic fuel needs, Indonesia must enhance the development of biofuels, such as biodiesel, as viable alternatives to fossil fuels. Biodiesel can be produced through the transesterification reaction in the presence of a catalyst to accelerate the reaction. Hydroxide is a commonly used catalyst, but their use in transesterification reactions can lead to saponification, complicating the separation of biodiesel from by-products. The use of sodium glyceroxide as a catalyst is an effort to utilize glycerol as a by-product in transesterification. The research aims to identify a more effective catalyst with performance characteristics comparable to conventional hydroxide catalysts used in biodiesel production. The research focuses on the synthesis of sodium glyceroxide and its application in the biodiesel transesterification reaction. The experimental design employs a fractional factorial design to systematically investigate the influence of three variables on biodiesel production: the NaOH to glycerol ratio (1:1, 2:1, 3:1), catalyst concentration (0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%), and the methanol to oil ratio (3:1, 6:1, 9:1). The design utilizes a 2-level factorial structure with three center points and two replications to ensure robust data analysis. Results indicate that all three factors significantly influence total glycerol and ester content; however, aliasing was observed in the experimental data. The experiment yielding the optimal results, with a total glycerol content of 0.106% and an ester content of 98.932%, was compared to transesterification using NaOH catalyst under identical reaction conditions. Transesterification with sodium glyceroxide catalyst produced biodiesel with lower total glycerol and higher ester content compared to transesterification using NaOH catalyst.