Modeling and Optimization of Biodiesel Production from Croton macrostachyus Leaves Oil.

The biodiesel produced from Croton macrostachyus (CM) leaves mostly contains unsaturated fatty acid esters with low stability of oxidation. A Croton macrostachyus (CM) leaf, a non-edible resource, was utilized to produce biodiesel. This novel work focuses on the trans-esterification of species known as CM leaves oil to produce biodiesel with the help of CaO nanoparticle (CaO NPs)-catalyzed technique. The esterification process is optimized utilizing response surface methodology (RSM) based on central composite design (CCD). Four parameters that affect the production of biodiesel from Croton macrostachyus (CM) leaves oil have been examined. The optimum operating conditions for the selected four factors have been investigated as reaction time 25.95 min, temperature 63.325 °C, methanol to oil ratio 28.093:1 in mg/L, and catalyst concentration 3.001%wt with a desirability value of 1. Under the predicted parameters, to optimize the production of biodiesel, the quadratic mathematical models were developed. The optimized trans-esterification result showed that a 96.375% yield of biodiesel (FAME) was found. Three different experimental runs were carried out to validate the proposed model by using the optimized process parameters, and 95.818% (average) of experimental yield have been found. The CM leaves oil biodiesel physicochemical properties were obtained, and it was observed all the tasted properties agree with fuel specifications set by ASTM D6751 standards. In conclusion, this work formulates the baseline and the need for future exploration of CM leaves oil for biodiesel production through different methods.