Biodiesel from Nahor Seed Oil: Synthesis, Evaluation, and Compatibility with Petrodiesel

• Published in: Petroleum chemistry Vol. 62; no. 10; pp. 1211 - 1222
• Main Authors: Uddin, M. Nazim, Salam, M. Abdus, Uddin, M. Rakib, Khan, Maksudur R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01.10.2022; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acidification; Biodiesel fuels; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Compatibility; Diesel engines; Diesel motor; Energy minerals; Esterification; Fatty acids; Fossil fuels; Fuel consumption; Hexanes; Hydrogen chloride; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy; Phenolphthalein; Pressure; Renewable energy sources; Renewable resources; Seeds; Triglycerides; kinematic viscosity; saponification; esterification; free fatty acid; acidification; Nahor seed oil; biodiesel
• ISSN: 0965-5441; 1555-6239
• DOI: 10.1134/S0965544122100048

The scarcity of fossil fuels, adverse climate effects due to fossil fuel consumption, and environmental concerns raised increased attention for renewable energy. Biodiesel has high potential as a renewable energy source and can substitute petroleum-derived fuel without any modification of the conventional diesel engine. In this contribution, biodiesel is obtained from Mesua ferrea L. (Nahor oil) by a three-step process consisting of saponification, acidification, and esterification as a renewable fuel. Nahor seed kernel gives maximum oil content of 58.6% (v/w) through the soxhlet extraction method by using n -hexane as solvent. An enhanced saponification reaction (~two-fold increase of initial reaction rate) was evident in the presence of CaO rather than NaOH and NaCl. A faster and more complete acidification reaction to free fatty acid (FFA) was evidenced for a 1 : 1.5 molar ratio of soap to acid (HCl) at 70°C temperature and ambient pressure. Biodiesel formation was found optimal for a 1 : 6 molar ratio of FFA to methanol at 60°C and atmospheric pressure, in presence of HCl as a catalyst. 1 H NMR (Nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopy of produced biodiesel confirms the full up-gradation of triglyceride (Nahor oil) to biodiesel. Detailed characterization of the derived biodiesel shows most of the properties are compatible with petrodiesel standards to a certain extent despite high pour and cloud points. Moreover, biodiesel derived from Nahor seed oil shows better compatibility with petrodiesel than sunflower or Koroch seed oil.