Evaluation of Fuel Properties from Free Fatty Acid Compositions of Methyl Esters Obtained from Four Tropical Virgin Oils

Abstract

Four feedstocks comprising two non-edible oils (Telfairia occidentals Hook F, (TVO) and Hura crepitians L (HVO)) and two edible oils (Cucumeropsis manii Naud(CSVO) and Canarium schweinfurthii Engl. (CVO) were studied for production of methyl esters (biodiesel) because they are abundant in large quantities in the locality. Base catalysis was used for the transesterification reaction with methanol at different oil/alcohol molar ratios (4:1, 6:1 and 9:1). Two catalyst types; KOH and NaOH were used. Reaction times of 5 and 30 min; temperatures of 38 and 55°C and a constant catalyst concentration of 1%wt/wt were employed. The free fatty acid composition of these oils and their methyl esters were obtained using a GCMS. The results indicate that these oils/methyl esters contain mostly polyunsaturated free fatty acid. The properties of biodiesel that were determined by the structure of component fatty esters include ignition quality (cetane number CN), heat of combustion (gross calorific value H), oxidation stability, viscosity, cold flow which indicates that these oils can be used for biodiesel production.

Department(s)

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

Biodiesel; Catalyst; Feedstock; Free fatty acid; Seed oil; Transesterification

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0973-1792

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2013 Research India Publications, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2013

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