Free fatty acid of waste cooking oil was reduced through esterification using Indian-190 and then transesterified using AmberliteIRA-900 to produce biodiesel. Maximum conversion of 93.69% was observed during esterification at optimized conditions (temperature: 337 K; duration: 4 h; methanol: oil: 20: 1; catalyst: 8 wt%). Biodiesel conversion of 98.69% was observed with a yield of 80% through transesterification. Temperature dependence was analyzed using the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model. Activation energy of 134.952 kJ/mol and a frequency factor of 5.49 x 10(15) min(-1) were observed. Thermodynamic parameters were determined using the Van't Hoff plot. Properties of biodiesel were found to be within ASTM standard. Reusability of Indion-190 was analyzed for five cycles, and found to be satisfactory.