Research data supporting "Snail shell derived magnetic nanocatalysts for biodiesel production: Process optimization through response surface methodology, kinetics, and thermodynamic studies"

Research data supporting the full paper entitled "Snail shell derived magnetic nanocatalysts for biodiesel production: Process optimization through response surface methodology, kinetics, and thermodynamic studies" by S. Ao et al. in Biomass and Bioenergy. A heterogeneous biomass-based catalyst based on CaO derived from snail shells and magnetite nanoparticles was used and recycled in the generation of biodiesel from Soybean oil. The following supporting data that characterizes the fresh and recycled catalyst and also the product(s) of biodiesel formation are deposited here: X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) data from a PANalytical X’Pert Pro diffractometer. Cu Kα radiation was used over 2theta = 10-60°, and with 40 kV and 100 mA as functional voltage and current, respectively. Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) analyses in the range 400–4000 cm-1 from a Bruker 3000 HYPERION FT-IR spectrometer. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) from a TG/DTA (Netzsch Geratebau GMBH, model no. STA 409) under air flow of 1.5 bar and 2 L h-1. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images, acquired at 5kV and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) data and maps acquired at 10kV on a TESCAN MIRA3 FEG-SEM equipped with an Oxford Instruments X-maxN 80 EDS detector. Prior to SEM-EDS, samples were sputter coated with 10 nm of Pt using a Quorum Technologies Q150T ES coater. Elemental composition from an Elementar Vari EL Cube (Germany). A Quantachrome® ASiQwin™ instrument was used for analysis by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and pore volume analyser at 77 K through N2 adsorption-desorption processes. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) examination using an ESCALAB Xi+ system with a micro-focused dual-anode Al/Mg K source. Temperature-programmed desorption using a flow of helium (100 cm3 min-1) whilst heating the samples to 50 °C at a rate of 5 °C min-1. A stream of CO2 was permitted to flow over the sample after 30 minutes at this temperature. Physisorbed species were removed from the sample by passing it through a flow of helium for one hour at a rate of 100 cm3 min-1. The desorption of NH3 and CO2 was measured with a flow of helium gas at 900 °C and a temperature ramp-rate of 10 °C min-1. Inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and C, H, N elemental analyses using a Thermo Scientific iCAP 7400 ICP-OES spectrometer and an Exeter analytical CE 440 elemental analyser (975 °C), respectively. Vibrating-sample magnetometer (VSM) data obtained from a Lake Shore 7410 series instrument. The magnetometer was calibrated using a nickel reference sphere. A 1.5 Tesla applied field maximum was used for the tests. 1H and {1H}13C NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) data from a 600 MHz JEOL ECZR series instrument at 28 °C. Signals were internally referenced against tetramethylsilane. GC (Gas chromatography) data from an Agilent 7890 GC operating in head space injector mode and with a CPSIL 8CB capillary column (30 m × 0.25 mm × 0.25 μm) employed a GC-FID detector. The oven temperature was initially 55 °C and was increased with a rate of 10 °C min-1 up to 230 °C. The temperature of the detector and the injector were 300 °C and 250 °C respectively. For quantitative analysis of the products, methanol (GC/MS grade) was used as an internal standard.