Biodiesel synthesis from Prunus bokhariensis non-edible seed oil by using green silver oxide nanocatalyst

The present work investigates the proficiency of green silver oxide nanocatalyst synthesised from Monotheca buxifolia (Falc.) Dcne. leaves extract, and their application for biodiesel synthesis from novel Prunus bokhariensis seed oil (non-edible). The seed oil content of 55% and FFA content of 0.80 mg KOH/g were reported. Several analytical tools (EDX, FT-IR, SEM and XRD) were used to characterise the Ag2O nanocatalyst. Maximum (89%) FAME yield of the PBSOB (Prunus bokhariensis seed oil biodiesel) was achieved at ambient transesterification conditions i.e. 3.5 wt% nanocatalyst loading, 2.5 h reaction time, 130 °C of reaction temperature and 12:1 alcohol to oil ratio. The synthesised PBSOB was additionally characterised by analytical methods like, GC-MS and FT-IR. The different aspects of fuel were identified i.e. flash point (84 °C), kinematic viscosity (4.01 cSt @ 40 °C), sulphur content (0.0003 wt %), density (0.853 kg/L) and acid number (0.167 mg KOH/g). All the above properties were verified and agreed well with biodiesel international standards (European Union (14214), China GB/T (20828) and ASTM (6751, 951). In general, Prunus bokhariensis seed oil and Ag2O nanocatalyst seem to be remarkably active, cheap and stable candidates for the biodiesel industry in future.