The use of MgO/SiO₂ as catalyst for transesterification of rubber seed oil with different alcohols

In principle, biodiesel production relies on the transesterification reaction of fatty acids contained in vegetable oil or waste rich in fatty acids with short-chain alcohols with the help of a catalyst. The purpose of this study was to obtain information about the most suitable alcohol for the transesterification of rubber seed oil into biodiesel. In this study, the transesterification of rubber seed oil was carried out with three different types of short-chain alcohols, namely methanol, ethanol, and 2-propanol. Each alcohol was used with a ratio of 3:1 to oil and transesterification was carried out in the presence of MgO/SiO₂ catalyst with an amount of 10% (by weight of catalyst/volume oil) at 70 °C for 6 h. Transesterification products were analyzed using Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis to confirm the conversion of fatty acids in the oil into esters. The results showed that the reactivity of alcohols is in the order of methanol > ethanol > 2-propanol with the percentages of conversion of oil to products are 90.1, 73.3, and 63.2%, respectively. These results indicate that methanol is the most suitable alcohol for transesterification of rubber seed oil.