Investigation and comparison of the optimal condition for the production of biodiesel from shea butter oil and groundnut oil using homogeneous catalysis.
Abstract
Due to the depletion of world petroleum reserves and increased environmental concerns, recent interest in alternative source for petroleum-based fuels has been developed. Biodiesel arose as the potential candidate for a diesel substitute due to the similarities it has with petroleum-based diesel. Chemically biodiesel is monoalkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from renewable feedstock like vegetable oils and animal fats. It is produced largely by transesterification in which oil or fat is reacted with a monohydric alcohol in the presence of a catalyst. In this research, biodiesel was produced from groundnut oil and shea butter oil using homogeneous catalyst under varying operating conditions such as temperature, concentration of NaOH(s) and time of reaction, and the conditions which gave the optimum biodiesel yield were obtained. The best operating temperature and catalyst concentration for the transesterification of both oils were found to be 70℃ and 1% catalyst (NaOH) respectively. While the optimum reaction time was found to be 75 and 60 min for shea butter and groundnut oils respectively. The study showed that both sh
Keywords: Due to the depletion of world petroleum reserves and increased environmental concerns, recent interest in alternative source for petroleum-based fuels has been developed. Biodiesel arose as the potential candidate for a diesel substitute due to the simi