Optimization of Biodiesel Production over Chicken Eggshell-Derived CaO Catalyst in a Continuous Centrifugal Contactor Separator.

Solid calcium oxide (CaO) catalyst was prepared via the calcination of chicken eggshells as an environmentally friendly waste resource and incorporated in a continuous centrifugal contactor separator (CCCS) for intensified biodiesel synthesis. Biodiesel or fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) were produced via the transesterification of sunflower oil (containing 5 wt % tetrahydrofuran as a cosolvent) with methanol under 60 °C and separated from the glycerol and catalyst phases continuously in the CCCS. The influence of reaction parameters on biodiesel production was well modeled by response surface methodology.