Abstract
•Novel trimetallic loaded with montmorillonite clay catalyst has been synthesized.•Structural characterizations of developed catalyst has been done extensively.•Optimization of non-edible Celastrus paniculatus Wild seed oil biodiesel synthesis.•Catalyst exhibits high stability, activity and economic viability.
The potential of new trimetallic (Ce, Cu, La) loaded montmorillonite clay catalyst for synthesizing biodiesel using novel non-edible Celastrus paniculatus Willd seed oil via two-step transesterification reaction has been reported along with catalyst characterization. Transesterification reaction was optimized and maximum biodiesel yield of 89.42% achieved under optimal operating reaction states like; 1:12 oil to methanol ratio, 3.5% of catalyst amount, 120 °C of reaction temperature for 3 h. The predicted and experimental biodiesel yields under these reaction conditions were 89.42 and 89.40%, which showing less than 0.05% variation. Additionally, optimum biodiesel yield can be predicted by drawing 3D surface plots and 2D contour plots using MINITAB 17 software. For the characterization of the obtained biodiesel, analysis including the GC/MS, FT-IR, 1H NMR and 13C NMR were applied. The fuel properties of obtained biodiesel agrees well with the different European Union (EU-14214), China (GB/T 20828), and American (ASTM-951, 6751) standards.