Citrus limetta-peel mediated sheet- like MgO nano-catalyst for the production of biodiesel from jatropha Oil.

The present study spotlights on novel green synthesis of Citrus limetta peel mediated sheet like MgO nano-catalyst (CitLim-PE-MgO Nano-catalyst) for biodiesel production from jatropha oil. The average crystalline size of prepared Nano-catalyst was confirmed by XRD analysis and found 24.5 nm. Sheet-like porous morphology was confirmed by FESEM-EDX. Mg and O-atoms were observed with 38.21 and 50.69 wt% at 1.1 keV and 1.3 keV in EDX. This nano-catalyst showed upto 98.20% yield of biodiesel production through transesterification reaction of jatropha oil with methanol at 65 °C with 8 wt% catalyst in 1:9 oil/methanol ratio. The production of biodiesel was confirmed by GC-MS and NMR spectroscopic analysis. The catalyst was recycled and used twice, with slight decrease in catalytic activity due to possible leaching of active components with 92.47% FAME production at optimum condition (65 °C with 8 wt% catalyst in 1:9 oil/methanol ratio); properties of biodiesel was found under international standards.