Shea butter oil transesterification via clay doped barium chloride catalyst; response surface methodology and genetic algorithm evaluation

Abstract

A novel clay-doped BaCl (CD-BaCl) heterogeneous catalyst was developed through calcinations at 600oC for four hours and successfully  applied for biodiesel production from shea butter oil. The catalyst was characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR),  Scanning Electron Micrograph (SEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), and BrunauerEmmett-Teller(BET) before and after  treatment to ascertain its suitability for the process. The shea butter oil was characterized using FT-IR and GC-MS (Gas Chromatography  Mass Spectrometer) to confirm its potential for the transesterification process. Response surface methodology (RSM) and Genetic  Algorithm (GA) were used to compare the best operating conditions; GA outperformed RSM with a biodiesel yield (81.49%) obtained at a  catalyst loading (3 wt%), methanol/molar ratio (12:1 mol/mol), time (3 hours), temperature (50^oC), and agitation speed (208.8 rpm). The  second-order polynomial model is shown in the (Analysis of Variance) ANOVA with an R² value of 0.9981, Adj R² (0.9946), and Pred R² (0.9499), demonstrating the model's acceptance. The shea butter biodiesel produced complied with ASTM D6751 requirements. As a  result, this study showed that GA is more predictive than RSM.