Synthesis, Characterization and Evaluation of two Forms of Sulphated Zirconia for Biofuel Production by Triglyceride Cracking

Abstract

Catalyst technology has a substantial impact on the sustainability of industrial processes, products, environment, the economics and quality of life of any country. Currently the world is becoming increasingly, environmentally aware and renewable transport fuels such as biodiesel are becoming increasingly prevalent. Currently, the major technical challenges in conventional biodiesel production (by transesterification with methanol) are: unwanted side reactions, difficult downstream separations, and ensuring sustainability l"?. Catalysis can make a significant contribution to improving this process, as the load on downstream processes would be greatly reduced, and the flow sheet greatly simplified, thereby reducing capital cost. However, another catalytic-based solution is heterogeneously catalysed vegetable oil cracking 2) This would remove the dependence on methanol, which is seldom produced. sustainably and is a significant process cost. Current challenges to catalysis of this reaction include maximizing efficiency and ensuring that the catalyst is chemically and thermally stable, and can be regenerated Catalytic properties are strongly affected by preparation method 3). Hence it is necessary for researchers to investigate different methods of preparation in order to optimise catalyst performance. Sulphated zirconia is a super-acid catalyst, used for many organic reactions. However, it has been found to be susceptible to leaching, rapid deactivation during catalytic reactions and a relatively small surface area when prepared through the conventional method.