Abstract
A CaO/clinoptilolite green nanocomposite (CaO/Clino) was synthesized by a green modification technique using calcium nitrate and green tea extract. The CaO/Clino nanocomposite promises a total basicity of 4.82 mmol OH/g, surface area of 252.4 m2/g, and ion exchange capacity of 134.3 mequiv/100 g, which qualifies the product as an effective catalyst in the transesterification of castor oil. The transesterification performance of the CaO/Clino catalyst was addressed statistically based on the response surface methodology and central composite rotatable design, considering the essential experimental parameters. Based on the interaction effect between the studied variables, the CaO/Clino catalyst can achieve an experimental biodiesel yield of 93.8% after 2.5 h at 120 °C with 3.5 wt % catalyst loading and 15:1 ethanol/castor oil molar ratio. The optimization function of the design suggested enhancement in the performance of the CaO/Clino catalyst to achieve a yield of 95.4% if the test time interval increased to 2.65 h and the ethanol content increased to 16:1 as a molar ratio to castor oil. The produced biodiesel over CaO/ClinO has acceptable technical qualifications according to the international requirements (EN 14214 and ASTM D-6751). The synthetic green CaO/Clino nanocomposite has better recyclability as a heterogeneous catalyst and higher activity than some investigated catalysts in literature.