Balaji M. Panchal

Optimization of extraction of oil and biodiesel from Thespesia populnea seed oil by alkali catalyst in India

ABSTRACT Thespesia populnea oil was new source of biodiesel. Crude Thespesia populnea oil was used as feedstock for biodiesel production by alkali-catalyzed methanolysis. The reaction in the presence of NaOH as catalyst was carried out to investigate the optimum conditions and to study the effects of variables on the reaction. A methanol to oil ratio of 6:1, sodium methoxide catalyst concentration of 1.5%, mixing intensity of 250 rpm and reaction temperature of 60°C offered the best Thespesia populnea seed oil methyl esters (biodiesel) yield (92.6%). The methyl ester content under these optimum conditions was 92.6% w/w, and all of the measured properties of the Thespesia populnea biodiesel (TPME) met the international standards ASTM D 6751-02. The results reveal that all of the reaction variables in this study had positive effects on the reaction. The results of the present study indicated that TPME could be a potential alternative to petrodiesel

Kinetic and effective production of DMC-Sm-BioDs from Sapindus mukorossi seed kernel powder using dimethyl carbonate with KOH-Folch mixture solution as a catalyst.

The kinetics and transesterification of Sapindus mukorossi seed kernel powder with dimethyl carbonate (DMC) were explored using a mixed KOH–Folch solution as a catalyst for the preparation of biodiesel. The effect of the reaction conditions (the molar ratio of S. mukorossi seed kernel powder with DMC, the catalyst amount and the reaction time, the reaction temperature and the agitation speed) on DMC-Sm-BioDs yields were investigated. The highest DMC-Sm-BioDs yield was 95% at 60 °C for 60 min with a molar ratio of S. mukorossi seed kernel powder to DMC 1:3 and 1.5% KOH (based on DMC weight). DMC-Sm-BioDs was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to identify the fatty acid dimethyl esters. The activation energy (Ea) was 75.2 kJ mol−1, and the pre-exponential factor was 1.09×108 min−1. The DMC-Sm-BioDs produced from S. mukorossi seed kernel powder is characterized for various properties, such as the kinematic viscosity at 40 °C, the specific gravity at 25 °C, the flash point, the pour point, the cloud point, the acid value and the copper stripe corrosion. DMC-Sm-BioDs satisfied the European quality standards defined in ASTM D6751-02.