Valorization of Lignocellulosic Wastes for Solid Acid Catalyst Production and Its Application in Biodiesel Production from Algal Oil

Abstract

Today, the use of solid acid catalysts (SACs) in biodiesel production process is considered as a sustainable and cost effective approach. SACs are reusable products that can be easily recovered after the reaction. Since they are not consumed in the process, they increase the biodiesel yield, and allows easy separation of the final products. Recently, carbon-based SACs have come into prominence among different types of SACs in biodiesel production. They can be derived from a variety of carbon precursors, including waste biomass, at low cost. Reuse of abundant waste biomass, which is generally dumped or burnt, for SACs preparation helps in solid waste management and minimizes the possible greenhouse gas emissions. Since algal biodiesel production is not so economical and needs to be improve, using SACs produced from waste biomass can be promising for making the process more cost effective. In this study, walnut shell and olive stone were utilized to produce biochar based solid acid catalyst, and produced catalysts were used for biodiesel production from algal oil. According to the obtained results, it was found that lignocellulosic wastes can be valorized not only as biochar also as solid acid catalyst and provide a cost-effective biodiesel production.