Optimization of biodiesel production of spirulina-platensis algae biomass using RSM integrated with whale optimization algorithm

OPTIMIZATION OF BIODIESEL PRODUCTION OF ALGAE BIOMASS USING RSM WOA

Abstract

Sustainable sources for biodiesel production from non-edible feedstocks are gaining attention due to limited sources of crude petroleum and concern related to the harmful emission of fossil fuels. In this study, Spirulina-Platensis algae biomass has been used for biodiesel production. The effect of methanol to algae biomass ratio, temperature, time, catalyst concentration, and stirring speed for optimization of algae biomass biodiesel using the transesterification process has been studied. The proposed work has implemented the quadratic regression equation obtained by RSM with the whale optimization algorithm. The result shows maximum production of algae biomass biodiesel (89.87%) obtained at the algal biomass/methanol ratio of 5.56, temperature of 54.64 °C, time of 78 minutes, H₂SO₄ of 77.06% w/w, and stirring speed of 450 rpm. The RSM and WOA prediction models have been compared for more. The experimental result shows that WOA optimization can accurately predict the optimal point with a small error. The fundamental properties of algae biomass biodiesel were checked and compared with fossil diesel.