Synthesis of alumina from aluminium can waste to be applied as catalyst support for biodiesel production

Abstract Abundant of aluminum beverage cans are normally discarded after use have caused considerable land pollution and environmental problems. This research is therefore aimed to synthesize alumina from aluminum can waste which is one of the most common kind of waste. The objective of this research is to synthesize and characterize alumina produced from aluminum can waste, and to be applied as catalyst support in the biodiesel production. In this study, the alumina from aluminum can waste was produced via Sol-gel method by varying the aging time. Characterization of alumina was performed by using FTIR, XRD, BET, and SEM-EDX. The synthesized alumina was used as catalyst support for potassium nitrate catalyst to be applied in biodiesel production by using transesterification reaction of cooking oil. The biodiesel produced was analyzed by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) and FTIR. The experimental results revealed that the alumina powder synthesized at room temperature have high surface area which are suitable to be used as catalyst support of producing biodiesel. In conclusion, it has been demonstrated that it is possible to produce alumina from aluminum can waste that can be used as catalyst support for biodiesel production. From the GCMS and FTIR results, it was proven that biodiesel is produced.