PHYSICOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF BIODIESEL PRODUCED FROM Prunusdomestica L. (EUROPEAN PLUM) SEEDS OIL USING NaOH AS CATALYST

Abstract

ABSTRACT The oil used in this work was extracted from the seeds of Prunusdomestica L.commonly known as European Plum. The oil extract was obtained by using soxhlet extraction and n-hexane as solvent; the physico-chemical properties of the oil were evaluated. Two step transesterification of the oil in the presence of NaOH as catalyst was done by varying catalyst concentrations at 1% and 2% of the weight of the oil with 6:1 and 9:1 molar ratio of methanol to oil ratio at constant temperature (60°C) and time (120mins). The maximum yield of biodiesel is 72.2% at 1% catalyst (NaOH) concentration with 6:1 molar ratio of methanol to oil. Acid value, free fatty acid, saponification value, iodine value, density and moisture content of the biodiesel produced were 3.1mgKOH/g,1.54mgKOH/g,67.2mgKOH/g,14I2/100g,0.81g/cm3and 3.0% respectively. The cetane number and higher heating value were obtained as given at 124.25 and 43.33 respectively; which are in agreement with American Standard for Testing Materials (ASTM). The 42.2% yield of oil from Prunusdomestica L. seeds makes it a good feedstock for biodiesel production.