Application of agricultural waste as heterogeneous catalysts for biodiesel production

Abstract

In this modern era, it has become essential to transform waste materials into valuables because of their excessive availability, along with achieving the targets of environmental protocols and waste management policies. With a growing population, the utilization and consumption of agricultural products have been increased extensively. In addition, it has increased the probability of agricultural waste generation. Waste produced from agricultural sources is considered as a viable source for synthesizing economical and ecofriendly catalysts and suitable ways for its disposal are sought. This study is targeted at agricultural waste-derived heterogeneous catalysts, which have been effectively employed for biodiesel generation. The types of agricultural waste, catalyst synthesis techniques, recent literature stated for agricultural waste-derived catalysts to produce biodiesel, the elemental composition and catalytic activity of agricultural waste ashes, the effect of reaction parameters to maximize biodiesel yield and catalyst reusability have been discussed. This work concludes that catalysts derived from agricultural waste are efficient in transesterification reaction, and they are easy to produce, and are cheap and ecofriendly. Moreover, this study encourages researchers to see the options for unexplored agricultural waste, which can be potentially converted into useful materials.