Biodiesel is defined as mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from vegetable oils or
animal fats, which conform to ASTM D6751 specifications for use in diesel engines. Fuel-grade
biodiesel must be produced to strict industry specifications in order to ensure proper performance.
Biodiesel contains no petroleum, but it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create
a biodiesel blend. From the production and characterization of biodiesel via the alkaline
transesterification of coconut oil using different concentrations homogeneous catalyst (sodium
hydroxide), oil to methanol molar ratio of 1:6, reaction temperature of 550C and reaction time of
60 min. Biodiesel can serve as a potential feedstock for the production of biodiesel owing to its
high conversion rate and relatively low FFA content. At a catalyst concentration of 1%w/w oil
NaOH catalyst, optimum yield of up to 96% was achieved. It is interesting to note that the viscosity
of the biodiesel obtained falls within the limit as specified by ASTM D445 (2003). A flash point
of 154.2 was obtained for the coconut biodiesel. This shows that the biodiesel is safe for handling
as the flash point exceeds the minimum stipulated by the ASTM (93min). The transformation of
the triglycerides present in most oils into methyl ester was confirmed by FT-IR studied. Further
investigation regarding the profile of the acid methyl esters present in the oil was confirmed using
GC-MS analysis.
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Author Name: Janet John Nahadi , Musa Idris Atadashi
URL: View PDF
Keywords: Coconut Oil; Sodium Hydroxide; Transesterification; Biodiesel; And Purification.
ISSN: 2394-3629(P)
EISSN: 2350-0530(O)
EOI/DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.1465001
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