Role of oxygen defects in basicity of Se doped ZnO nanocatalyst for enhanced triglyceride transesterification in biodiesel production

We report herein, Se doped ZnO nanorods, a new heterogeneous base catalyst for transesterification of vegetable oil to fatty methyl esters (FAME) or biodiesel. Surface area defects, mainly oxygen interstitials and oxygen vacancies, in the crystal lattice play essential role in enhancing basic site reactivity. The optimum transesterification reaction condition was found to be usage of 1:20 oil to methanol volume ratio, 5 wt.% catalyst load, 65 degrees C as reaction temperature to give a maximum yield of 94.7% FAME in 3 h. The nanocatalyst was recyclable without loss of FAME yield and can be used for industrial scale biodiesel production.

Automated summary

Se doped ZnO nanorods were found to be an efficient heterogeneous base catalyst for transesterification of vegetable oil, with surface area defects in the crystal lattice playing a key role in enhancing reactivity. The optimal reaction conditions led to a maximum FAME yield of 94.7% in 3 hours, and the nanocatalyst showed recyclability and potential for industrial scale biodiesel production.