In the present study, the CaO/Natural Dolomite as a heterogeneous catalyst was applied to synthesize biodiesel from coconut oil. The physico-characteristics of CaO/Natural Dolomite catalyst were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-Ray Fluorescence, and porosity analysis (specific surface area, average pore size diameter and total pore volume). The performance of CaO/Natural Dolomite catalyst was examined in a batch reactor for transesterification reaction of coconut oil with methanol. From the experiments, the optimum process conditions were achieved at a 60°C of reaction temperature, a 5 wt.% of catalyst amount, and 6 : 1 of methanol to coconut oil mass ratio. The CaO/Natural Dolomite catalyst exhibits high catalytic activity and reliable to be applied in biodiesel synthesis as a heterogeneous base catalyst.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.