Optimization of Biodiesel Production from Waste Cooking Oil over a Magnetic Fe–Zr Nanocatalyst

Balqis Adlina Omar; Nurul Jannah Abd Rahman; Farah Wahida Harun; Salina Mat Radzi; Nor Zida Rosly

doi:10.9767/bcrec.20764

DOI: https://doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.20764

Optimization of Biodiesel Production from Waste Cooking Oil over a Magnetic Fe–Zr Nanocatalyst

Balqis Adlina Omar^{1, 2}, Nurul Jannah Abd Rahman¹

, Farah Wahida Harun², Salina Mat Radzi², Nor Zida Rosly³

¹Pusat Tamhidi, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Bandar Baru Nilai, 71800 Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

²Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Bandar Baru Nilai, 71800 Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

³Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ION2), Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, 43400 Selangor, Malaysia

Received: 6 Jun 2026; Revised: 30 Sep 2026; Accepted: 1 Oct 2026; Available online: 5 Oct 2026; Published: 26 Dec 2026.

Editor(s): Istadi Istadi

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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@article{BCREC20764,
    author = {Balqis Adlina Omar and Nurul Jannah Abd Rahman and Farah Wahida Harun and Salina Mat Radzi and Nor Zida Rosly},
    title = {Optimization of Biodiesel Production from Waste Cooking Oil over a Magnetic Fe–Zr Nanocatalyst},
    journal = {Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis},
  volume = {0},
    number = {0},
    year = {2026},
    keywords = {Magnetic Catalyst; Waste Cooking Oil; Optimization; Biodiesel; Response Surface Methodology},
    abstract = { The increasing demand for sustainable and low-cost biodiesel production has driven interest in waste cooking oil (WCO) as an alternative feedstock. In this study, a mesoporous magnetic Fe–Zr nanocatalyst with a specific surface area of 203.12 m²/g was synthesized via co-precipitation followed by incipient wetness impregnation and evaluated for the transesterification of WCO. The effects of reaction temperature, reaction time, and catalyst loading were investigated and optimized using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) based on a Central Composite Design (CCD), with a fixed methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 9:1. The fitted quadratic model showed a strong agreement with the experimental data, with an R² of 0.9894. The model predicted a maximum biodiesel yield of 81.992 % at a reaction temperature of 80 °C, reaction time of 4 h, and catalyst loading of 5 wt.%. Following transesterification, the acid value of the WCO-derived biodiesel decreased from 3.228 to 0.865 mg KOH/g. The Fe–Zr nanocatalyst demonstrated effective catalytic performance and facile magnetic separation, indicating its potential as a heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel production from WCO under the investigated conditions. Copyright © 2026 by Authors, Published by BCREC Publishing Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 ). },
   issn = {1978-2993},   pages = {4--19}  doi = {10.9767/bcrec.20764},
    url = {https://journal.bcrec.id/index.php/bcrec/article/view/20764}
}

Citation Format:

Abstract

The increasing demand for sustainable and low-cost biodiesel production has driven interest in waste cooking oil (WCO) as an alternative feedstock. In this study, a mesoporous magnetic Fe–Zr nanocatalyst with a specific surface area of 203.12 m²/g was synthesized via co-precipitation followed by incipient wetness impregnation and evaluated for the transesterification of WCO. The effects of reaction temperature, reaction time, and catalyst loading were investigated and optimized using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) based on a Central Composite Design (CCD), with a fixed methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 9:1. The fitted quadratic model showed a strong agreement with the experimental data, with an R² of 0.9894. The model predicted a maximum biodiesel yield of 81.992 % at a reaction temperature of 80 °C, reaction time of 4 h, and catalyst loading of 5 wt.%. Following transesterification, the acid value of the WCO-derived biodiesel decreased from 3.228 to 0.865 mg KOH/g. The Fe–Zr nanocatalyst demonstrated effective catalytic performance and facile magnetic separation, indicating its potential as a heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel production from WCO under the investigated conditions. Copyright © 2026 by Authors, Published by BCREC Publishing Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).

Keywords: Magnetic Catalyst; Waste Cooking Oil; Optimization; Biodiesel; Response Surface Methodology

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Section: Original Research Articles

Language : EN

In 2026: Just Accepted Manuscript and Article In Press 2026

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