<![CDATA[Waste cooking oil (WCO) is a potential renewable feedstock for biodiesel production, although its degradation products and contaminants require appropriate treatment. This study investigated the effects of transesterification time and oil-to-methanol molar ratio on biodiesel yield and fuel properties using a CaO/C/KOH composite catalyst. After esterification to reduce the free fatty acid (FFA) content, transesterification was conducted at 60 °C using 3 wt% catalyst. The oil-to-methanol molar ratio was varied from 1:3 to 1:15 at a reaction time of 3 hours, while reaction time was varied from 1 to 5 hours at a molar ratio of 1:15. Biodiesel was characterized in terms of yield, density, viscosity, acid number, moisture content, and methyl ester composition, with fuel properties assessed against the SNI 7182:2015 standard. The highest reported yield was 80.02%, with a methyl ester content of 99.77%, at a reaction time of 3 hours. At an oil-to-methanol molar ratio of 1:15, the reported yield was 71.9%, with a methyl ester content of 99.19%. GC–MS analysis identified methyl oleate and methyl palmitate as the dominant components. The characterization results indicated that the biodiesel met the specified SNI 7182:2015 requirements. These findings demonstrate the potential of the CaO/C/KOH composite catalyst for biodiesel production from WCO and highlight the importance of optimizing reaction conditions.]]>
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