Non-edible plant oils as new sources for biodiesel production.
Due to the concern on the availability of recoverable fossil fuel reserves and the environmental problems caused by the use those fossil fuels, considerable attention has been given to biodiesel production as an alternative to petrodiesel. However, as the biodiesel is produced from vegetable oils and animal fats, there are concerns that biodiesel feedstock may compete with food supply in the long-term. Hence, the recent focus is to find oil bearing plants that produce non-edible oils as the feedstock for biodiesel production. In this paper, two plant species, soapnut (Sapindus mukorossi) and jatropha (jatropha curcas, L.) are discussed as newer sources of oil for biodiesel production. Experimental analysis showed that both oils have great potential to be used as feedstock for biodiesel production. Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) from cold pressed soapnut seed oil was envisaged as biodiesel source for the first time. Soapnut oil was found to have average of 9.1% free FA, 84.43% triglycerides, 4.88% sterol and 1.59% others. Jatropha oil contains approximately 14% free FA, approximately 5% higher than soapnut oil. Soapnut oil biodiesel contains approximately 85% unsaturated FA while jatropha oil biodiesel was found to have approximately 80% unsaturated FA. Oleic acid was found to be the dominant FA in both soapnut and jatropha biodiesel. Over 97% conversion to FAME was achieved for both soapnut and jatropha oil.
Chhetri
Arjun B
AB
Faculty of Engineering, Dalhousie University, 1360 Barrington Street, Halifax NS B3J 2X4, Canada.
Tango
Martin S
MS
Faculty of Engineering, Dalhousie University, 1360 Barrington Street, Halifax NS B3J 2X4, Canada.|School of Engineering, Acadia University, Wolfville, NS, Canada.
Budge
Suzanne M
SM
Faculty of Engineering, Dalhousie University, 1360 Barrington Street, Halifax NS B3J 2X4, Canada.
Watts
K Chris
KC
Faculty of Engineering, Dalhousie University, 1360 Barrington Street, Halifax NS B3J 2X4, Canada.
Islam
M Rafiqul
MR
Faculty of Engineering, Dalhousie University, 1360 Barrington Street, Halifax NS B3J 2X4, Canada.