Abstract:
In this study, we investigated the application of waste avocado peel oil (WAPO) as a
convenient and abundant source for biodiesel production using calcium oxide (CaO)
biocatalysts derived from waste chicken eggshell via transesterifcation process.
Likewise the functional group of extracted waste avocado peel oil and the structure
of synthesized CaO biocatalyst were performed by using FT-IR (Fourier Transform
Infrared Spectroscopy) and X-ray difractometer analysis respectively. The physico chemical properties of the avocado peel oil and properties of biodiesel such as fash
point, kinematic viscosity, density, cetane number, and acid number were also deter mined according to international standards. The optimum conditions were at a reac tion temperature of 65 °C, a reaction time of 3 h, a catalytic load of 1.2 g, and a ratio
of methanol to oil of 5:1 was achieved 94.45% with the desirability of 1 and the cor responding optimized biodiesel yield of 94.89%. The physicochemical properties of
the avocado peel oil and the produced biodiesel were characterized using GC–MS to
identify the composition of oil and biodiesel compound. The results represented that
avocado peel oil can be used as a renewable feedstock source to produce biodiesel.
