In this study, biodiesel is produced using a synthesized, dual-functional heterogeneous catalyst
using nonedible plant-based oil to produce biodiesel as a cleaner fuel to conserve the environment
and meet the current energy demand. Pristine carbon as a support for the catalyst is produced from
waste date seeds powder before oil extraction and modified with alkaline earth metal oxides to
utilize it for transesterification to produce biodiesel. Two catalysts have been tested, carbon-based
catalysts modified by CaO and MgO. Synthesized catalysts prior usage are characterized by
several techniques which include XRD, SEM, BET and TPD. The catalysts characterization
revealed their suitability for transesterification reaction. Then, two transesterification reactions in
parallel are conducted to test the yield of both catalysts at the same reaction parameters and the
resultant yield from each catalyst is recorded. CaO modified with carbon has the highest yield of
79.03% while MgO modified with carbon achieved 54.60% yield. These results were achieved
under the same reaction conditions of 12:1 of methanol to oil ratio, 1 wt% of catalyst loading, 60℃
and 150 min reaction time. Accordingly, process optimization is conducted using CaO modified
with carbon synthesized catalyst for the reaction. The optimized yield of biodiesel is 89.5 % when
the set parameters of a temperature of 65 ◦C, time 90 min, methanol to oil molar ratio of 15 :1 and
catalyst loading of 3 wt% using CaO modified with carbon. Thus, this study gave an overall
complete scenario from an economical catalyst and a non-edible oil to efficient fuel production
which can be advantageous in the society.