Synthesis and modification of ZSM-22 and immobilization of transition metals such as Cr, Cu, Fe and Ni in order to increasing the efficiency of bio-diesel production from oleic acid oil

Zeolites are a wide range of minerals that are composed mainly of aluminosilicate and their major commercial use in industrial applications are as adsorbents and catalysts. Having a well-defined structure, selectivity, active sites, modifying cationic components, easy synthesis, convenient access and affordable prices, are great features for choosing zeolites as catalysts. They are promising catalysts for the transesterification reaction of vegetable oils for biodiesel production. ZSM-22 is a good candidate for a solid base catalyst from an economical point of view. In the present work, we reviewed ZSM-22 catalyst for oleic acid transesterification to produce biodiesel. A series of ZSM-22s with different Si / Al ratios was prepared by hydrothermal method. In these structures, some metals such as Fe, Ni, Cu and Cr were placed in active sites to improve the performance of the catalyst [1-2]. Scheme 1. shows the process of esterification for the production of biodiesel from oleic acid. Different compounds of ZSM-22 were optimized through various reaction parameter such as: amount of catalyst, molar ratio of oil to alcohol, reaction time and temperature. According to the results of the analyzes, Fe was more active than other metals. After Fe, Cu, Ni and finally Cr were active respectively (Fe Cu Ni Cr). The best performance of catalyst was achieved with methanol to oil ratio of 10:1(mmol), 11wt % (0.3g) of catalyst loading, at 70 ℃ reaction temperatures for 48 h of reaction time. Catalysts were characterized by several spectroscopic and analytical techniques like XRD, EDAX, FT-IR, BET, GC, GC-Mass, TPD NH3 and FE-SEM. A major part of the research has been dedicated to the proper synthesis of catalyst to increase the production efficiency of biodiesel. The purpose of this study is to improve catalytic properties, improve the structure and synthesis method, in order to increase the production efficiency of biodiesel. The synthesized catalyst used in the process of optimal biodiesel production of oleic acid are used and the production efficiency and selectivity are calculated and compared.