Biogenic-Mediated Synthesis of the Cs2O−MgO/MPC Nanocomposite for Biodiesel Production from Olive Oil

In this work, a biogenic-mediated approach is successfully
used to synthesize a novel heterogeneous Cs2O−MgO/MPC basic
nanocomposite. For the first time, the established technicality employs
pomegranate seed extract that gives a green capping fuel and reducing
mediators during an aqueous solution combustion process of metal ion
precursors. The synthesized nanocomposites were identified by X-ray
diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, N2 isotherms, field emission
scanning electron microscopy, and CO2-TPD analyses. The trans-
esterification process of olive oil was used to evaluate the catalytic
performance. The nanocomposite displayed outstanding catalytic efficiency
stemming from the boosting of the reactant and product diffusion. The
transesterification activity and the optimization design were assessed by
applying the response surface methodology. Based on the experimental
tests, the finest experimental conditions with a biodiesel yield of 96.1% are 4
h, 4% catalyst amount, an oil/methanol ratio of 1:15, and a temperature of 65 °C. The predicted optimal conditions based on the statistical model are 6 h contact time, 5.2 % catalyst dose, 65 °C reaction temperature, and 1:15 oil/methanol molar ratio, attaining a biodiesel yield of 95.18%. The catalyst reusability has been performed almost continuously up to four cycles, with no loss of the active constituents. The obtained biodiesel demonstrated characteristics close to those of international standards of biodiesel. Besides, the process employed in this study demonstrated significant potential for further development and commercialization and is cheaper than the refined vegetable oil used in traditional approaches of biodiesel manufacturing.