The influence of metal loading amount on ni/mesoporous silica extracted from lapindo mud templated by ctab for conversion of waste cooking oil into biofuel

Abstract

The synthesis and characterization of Ni/mesoporous silica (Ni/MS) catalysts from Lapindo mud with various met-Al loading for the hydrocracking of waste cooking oil into biofuel has been conducted. The MS was synthesized by the hydrothermal method using CTAB as a template. The nickel-metal of 4, 6, and 8 wt% was loaded into the MS using salt precursors of Ni(NO3)2.6H2O via wet impregnation, produced the Ni(4)/MS, Ni(6)/MS, and Ni(8)/MS cat-Alysts, respectively. The materials produced were then characterized by X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRD), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), and Surface Area Analyzer (SAA), and Absorption Atomic Spectropho-Tometry (AAS). The catalytic activity test was carried out for hydrocracking of waste cooking oil and the resulted liquid product was analyzed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed that the specific surface area of Ni(4)/MS, Ni(6)/MS, and Ni(8)/MS catalysts are 63.08, 91.45, and 120.45 m2/g, respectively. The liquid products of the hydrocracking using Ni(4)/MS, Ni(6)/MS, and Ni(8)/MS catalysts were 80.57, 74.63, and 75.77 wt%, where the total biofuel produced was 55.46, 50.93, and 54.05 wt%, respectively. Based on these results, Ni(4)/MS material was successfully used as the most potent catalyst in the hydrocracking of waste cooking oil into the biofuel.