Abstract-In this article, preliminary investigation on the use of hydroxy sodalite (HS) as a solid catalyst for the transesterification of waste cooking oil (WCO) to biodiesel is presented. Hydroxy sodalite was synthesized in our laboratory via the conventional hydrothermal synthesis technique and the crystals were used as basic solid catalyst to convert waste cooking oil to biodiesel. Physicochemical properties of the as-synthesized HS catalyst were obtained using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) for surface chemistry and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) for the morphology. The reaction was conducted at 60 o C for 6 h at a methanol-to-WCO ratio of 7.5:1 using 3 wt.% HS catalyst. The stirring was at 400 rpm to ensure uniform concentration and heat distribution during the reaction. The product obtained after the reaction was analyzed using a pre-calibrated Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS). The SEM images of the solid catalyst and the FTIR spectra show that HS particles were synthesized. The result of the analysis of the product revealed that biodiesel was produced. As far as could be ascertained, this is the first open report on the use of HS as solid catalyst for biodiesel production. The results of the investigation opened up further on-going research efforts in this area in our laboratory and subsequent results will be communicated in the future.
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