| Abstract: | The heterogeneous catalysis of transesterification of gmelina seed oil to biodiesel is evaluated. The oil was extracted from the seeds with n‐hexane by solvent extraction and characterized to determine its physiochemical properties. Response surface methodology was applied to optimize the effect of process variables on the biodiesel yield. The base‐activated clay catalyst performed as montmorillonite clay with the characteristic property of a Brønsted acid. It has an improved surface area after activation that enhanced its catalytic activity on transesterification reaction. Under optimal conditions, the biodiesel yield was 70.1 %, thus demonstrating that the model predicted well the biodiesel production. |
