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The study, published in the ASM Science Journal, tested an alkali-free zinc–aluminium layered double hydroxide (ZnAl-LDH) catalyst to convert waste cooking oil into biodiesel.
Two catalyst ratios (4:1 and 3:1) were made using ammonia-based chemicals to avoid sodium contamination. Heating the material at 250 °C broke its layered structure into mixed metal oxides, mainly zinc oxide, confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, and thermal analysis.
The cleaned oil had low free fatty acids, allowing a single transesterification step with methanol. Gas chromatography showed common methyl esters in the biodiesel. The 4:1 catalyst performed better, giving a 32.7% yield compared to 28.5% for the 3:1 version.
Read the full article in the ASM Science Journal.