article · ACS Sustainable Resource Management
Researchers have developed a sustainable method to produce a calcium-based metal-organic framework, known as a Ca-MOF, by repurposing waste materials. The process uses discarded polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic as a source for organic ligands and phosphate mine waste rocks to supply calcium. Synthesised in water under mild conditions, the resulting material is mesoporous, highly crystalline, and achieves a high production space-time yield of 790 kg per cubic metre per day. When tested as a heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel production via rapeseed oil transesterification, the material enabled a 98 per cent conversion yield at 70 degrees Celsius. Furthermore, the catalyst demonstrated sustained chemical stability and reusability across six consecutive reaction cycles.
Biodiesel offers a renewable alternative to fossil fuels, but industrial production frequently relies on expensive or non-renewable catalysts. By transforming plastic pollution and mining by-products into a high-performing catalytic material, this method addresses two major environmental waste challenges while lowering the resource impact of manufacturing renewable fuels.
This process could enable biodiesel producers and waste management operators to generate low-cost, reusable heterogeneous catalysts from abundant industrial and municipal waste streams. The synthesis demonstrates high space-time yields and proven performance in converting rapeseed oil. Because the findings are currently based on optimised laboratory transesterification tests, the technology sits at an applied and tested stage, requiring pilot-scale validation prior to commercial deployment.
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Abstract This study presents a sustainable strategy for the synthesis of a calcium based metal–organic framework (Ca-MOF) using phosphate mine waste rocks and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic waste as alternative calcium and ligand sources, respectively. The Ca-MOF was synthesized in water under mild conditions through a simple and environmentally friendly process, achieving a high space-time yield of 790 kg·m–3·day–1. Structural and textural characterization confirmed the successful formation of a mesoporous and highly crystalline material. The waste-derived Ca-MOF was successfully applied as a heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel production via transesterification of rapeseed oil, reaching a conversion yield of 98% under the optimized conditions (3 wt % catalyst, oil/methanol ratio of 8, 165 min, and 70 °C). In addition, the catalyst exhibited good stability and reusability over six consecutive cycles. This work demonstrates the potential of waste-derived MOFs as sustainable and efficient catalysts for renewable fuel production.
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DOI: 10.1021/acssusresmgt.6c00512
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