Obie Farobie, Risalania Aslamah, Apip Amrullah, Widya Fatriasari, Asep Bayu Dani Nandiyanto, Lilis Sucahyo, Edy Hartulistiyoso
The production of biodiesel using waste cooking oil offers a sustainable option to fossil fuels; however, it faces challenges, particularly the need for efficient and reusable catalysts. This research investigated the use of a novel mesoporous catalyst synthesized from Ulva lactuca to enhance biodiesel production via microwave-assisted transesterification. The catalyst was synthesized by calcining U. lactuca at different temperatures (500–700 °C) and was characterized using SEM, XRD, BET, and FTIR techniques. Transesterification experiments were conducted in a microwave reactor at various temperatures (40–70 °C), times (5–30 min), catalyst loadings (2–8 wt%), and oil-to-methanol molar ratios (1:3 to 1:12). A biodiesel yield of 92 % was achieved under the optimized conditions (600 °C calcination, 6 wt% catalyst loading, 60 °C reaction temperature, 25-min, and a 1:9 oil-to-methanol molar ratio). The catalyst exhibited good reusability, maintaining an 86 % biodiesel yield after three cycles, although the performance decreased to 61 % by the fifth cycle. The reaction kinetics were modeled with the activation energy calculated at 40.11 kJ/mol, and the model followed Arrhenius's behavior. These results highlight the potential of U. lactuca-derived catalysts for the sustainable production of biodiesel. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd
Department of Mechanical and Biosystem Engineering, IPB University, West Java, Bogor, 16680, Indonesia; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lambung Mangkurat University, Indonesia; Research Center for Biomass and Bioproducts, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Indonesia; Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Jl. Dr. Setiabudhi No. 229, Bandung, 40154, Indonesia
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