Biodiesel Production from Moringa Oleifera Oil Using CaO/CuFe2O4/C Heterogeneous Nanocatalyst and Combining Them with Diesel for Improvement of Fuel Properties

The fossil fuel sources are decreasing, and the use of biofuels has been recently considered. Among biofuels, biodiesel is considered more because of the environmental benefits. In this study, CaO/CuFe2O4/C nanocatalyst was used to produce biodiesel from Moringa oleifera oil. Different analyses such as TGA, EDX, XRD, FTIR, SEM, and TEM were applied to characterize physical and chemical properties of the CaO/CuFe2O4/C nanocatalyst. Also, Taguchi method was used to determine the biodiesel yield. Moreover, the effective parameters such as methanol/oil ratio (1:12 mol/mol), reaction time (4 h), reaction temperature (60 oC), and catalyst content (3%) were determined as optimal conditions on biodiesel production yield. Additionally, the maximum biodiesel yield was determined 98.69% in these conditions. Moreover, the physical properties of biodiesel/diesel mixtures like density, flash point, kinematic viscosity, pour point, and cloud point were studied, and the results were compared with ASTM D14214 and ASTM D 6751 standards. Finally, the results showed that these properties were in the standard range; in addition, pour point and cloud point are not proper for cold weather.