Biodiesel production by two step process from an energy source of Chrysophyllum albidum oil using homogeneous catalyst

Abstract

Due to the exhaustion of fossil diesel, it has become necessary to discover alternative diesel fuel from non edible sources and suitable technology to obtain biodiesel as alternative fuel. In this research work, two step processes was carried out for biodiesel production from a non edible source of Chrysophyllum albidum seed. The lipids were extracted using a mixed solvent by the superheated extractor and the fatty acids compositions were characterized by gas chromatography (GC). Chrysophyllum albidum seed oil first undergoes an esterification reaction using H2SO4 homogeneous catalyst and transesterification parameter effects such as reaction temperature, catalyst loading, methanol-oil molar ratio, reaction time, and stirring rate were studied. The highest conversion of oil to biodiesel was achieved as 99.2 wt% at the satisfying conditions of 1:9 molar ratio of oil to methanol, 1 wt% of KOH, and 500 rpm of mixing intensity with 40 min of reaction time at 65 ◦C. The conversion of oil to biodiesel was analysed and confirmed by 1 H NMR Spectroscopy and physic-chemical properties were analyzed and compared with the ASTM standards. According to our experimental investication, recommend that Two step process of esterification followed by transesterification process highly suitable for biodiesel production from Chrysophyllum albidum.