Over the years, functional catalysts have been synthesized from mineral sources, although, this makes them expensive and less economically viable. Based on this, the current work focused on developing a bifunctional heterogeneous catalyst from periwinkle shells and aluminum oxide which possesses basic and acidic properties, and would be useful in catalyzing reactions such as biodiesel production. The catalysts were formulated using incipient wet impregnation at different operating conditions of temperature (600 - 900 oC), time (2 - 5 h), and component mix ratio (CaO:Al2O3, 4:6 - 6:4). The compositions of the catalysts were determined using X-ray diffractometer (XRD), and the surface properties were assessed with Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analyzer. The results show that the periwinkle shells contained predominantly calcium oxide with 66.08 % and 83.01 % before and after calcination, respectively. The bifunctional heterogeneous catalyst (sample B) had the highest composition of aluminum oxide (42.07 %), and calcium oxide (56.02 %) formulated at a temperature (900 oC) time (5 h) and component mix ratio (CaO:Al2O3) of 6:4. The surface area , pore size and pore volume of sample B catalyst were 11,79 m2/g, (132.23 Å, and (0.00824 cm3/g, respectively. Based on the composition of the formulated bifunctional heterogeneous catalyst (sample), and its properties, it is the best of all the catalysts produced. The bifunctional catalyst produced may help to reduce the cost of biodiesel production, and could be a sustainable strategy for periwinkle shell waste management.
Akpan et al. (Wed,) studied this question.