Synthesis of biodiesel from edible and non-edible oils and characterisation

Abstract

In recent years, biodiesel has been receiving increasing attention because of scarcity and increasing cost of fossil fuels and growing emissions of combustion related pollutants. In the present work, biodiesel was synthesised via the transesterification of edible and non-edible oils such as gingili and mahua, with methanol as alcohol and sodium hydroxide as catalyst. The yield percentage obtained from non-edible mahua oil was comparable to that obtained from edible gingili oil, under optimum conditions. According to American Society of Testing and Methods (ASTM), several tests were conducted to characterise the biodiesel in relation to diesel oil, in order to evaluate various physical, chemical and thermal properties such as viscosity, acid value, iodine value, flash point, fire point and calorific value. From the results, it was observed that the fuel properties of biodiesel produced from mahua oil and gingili oil were within the recommended standards of biodiesel fuel of various countries. Hence the biodiesel produced from gingili oil and mahua oil can be used as a renewable alternative fuel for the diesel engine. © 2009 Energy Institute.