CATALYTIC ETHERIFICATION OF GLYCEROL OBTAINED FROM THE TRANSESTERIFICATION OF CRUDE Jatropha (Jatropha curcas LINNAEUS) OIL

In this work, investigation into the etherification of glycerol obtained from transesterification of crude jatropha oil using heterogeneous silica supported zinc oxide catalyst was carried out at temperature range of 100─300°C. Four different formulated ratios of silica supported zinc oxide catalyst were developed and characterized. The as-synthesized catalysts using precipitation / impregnation method were thermally treated at 550°C for 4 h in a furnace at an incremental rate of 4°C/min, and their functionalities were discussed based on their characterization. X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy / Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) Surface area analysis were used to characterize the catalysts. Characterization of the as-synthesized catalysts revealed that the interaction between ZnO / SiO2 formed a synergetic mixed oxide structure responsible for its catalytic performance during glycerol etherification. The catalyst is facile in separation from the product mixture and the metal oxide catalyst with a 1: 2.3 (ZnO / SiO2) ratio gave improved properties that suggest its usage for glycerol etherification to produce fuel additives. Thus, it suggests the products could increase the yield of biodiesel and improve certain properties of the fuel.