Production of Ethyl Ester Biodiesel from Jatropha Carcas Seed Oil.

Abstract

Production of biodiesel from Jatropha curcas oil using ethanol and dry purification with Jatropha husk ashes (JHA) was carried out with the sole objective of developing a farm-implementable processing technology for a developing country such as Nigeria. The Jatropha oil was extracted from Jatropha curcas seed (obtained from Bida town of Niger State) and its conversion to fatty acid ethyl ester (FAEE) was conducted via an acid catalysed ethanolysis at 65℃ leading to 83wt % biodiesel recovery. The physiochemical properties analysis gave an acid value of 5.61 mg KOH/g, iodine value of 7.487g I2/100g saponification value of 196.35mg KOH/g, viscosity of 4.82mm2/s, specific gravity of 0.91, high moisture content of 9.81, flash point of 128ᵒC, fire and cloud point of 136ᵒC and -2ᵒC respectively and cetane number of 42. Some of these values were within the ranges specified by ASTM values for biodiesel. Dry purification with Jatropha husk ashes (JHA) shows satisfactory result for removal of impurities from the produced biodiesel and can therefore be adopted as an alternative to the frequently used wet purification process. These results suggest the feasibility of biodiesel production by farmers even right there in their farms and this will greatly aid powering of farm machineries.