Abstract
The main advantages of biodiesel are its biodegradability, renewablity, improved nontoxic exhaust emissions and unnecessary alteration of common diesel engines. Today, biodiesel is produced by catalysis of inorganic acids, alkali and free or immobilized lipases with vegetable oil and short chain alcohols. Alkali and acidic catalysts are the most using catalysts for production of biodiesel because of their higher reaction yield and rate. In this study, we have comprised biodiesel productivity of different vegetable oils like sunflower, safflower, canola, soybean, olive, hazelnut, corn oils and waste sunflower oils by alkali catalysis. The transesterification of oils were performed by using NaOCH3 as catalyst at 25°C and at 100°C for 1 h. A defined amount of methanol as 6/1 molar ratio to oil was premixed with the metallic sodium. The amount of metallic sodium in methanol was 1.6 w% of oil mass for all of the crude oils/frying oil. Optimum reaction temperature was found as 25°C. TLC (Thin Layer Choromatography) image and GC (Gas Choromatography) results demonstrates that the dominant fatty acid in safflower, soy bean, sunflower, canola, corn and waste sunflower oil esters was linoleic acid (18:2). Besides it was oleic acid (18:1) for the olive and hazelnut oil esters. When biodiesel productivities of eight different oils were compared, similar results were obtained.
Highlights
Exploring new energy resources has a great importance in recent years
TLC (Thin Layer Choromatography) image and GC (Gas Choromatography) results demonstrates that the dominant fatty acid in safflower, soy bean, sunflower, canola, corn and waste sunflower oil esters was linoleic acid (18:2)
The fatty acids which were commonly found in vegetable oils were palmitic (16:0), stearic (18:0), oleic (18:1), linoleic (18:2) and linolenic (18:3)
Summary
Exploring new energy resources has a great importance in recent years. Biodiesel has become more attractive recently because of its environmental benefits. The primary concern of biodiesel producers has been a stable supply of low-cost oil feedstock that yields a quality biodiesel product competitive in price with petroleum diesel fuels. The biodiesel is composed of fatty acid methyl-ethyl esters and monoglycerides blended in a molar ratio of 2/1 It resembles the physico-chemical properties of conventional biodiesel and/or petro diesel, avoiding the production of glycerin as by product. A series of improvements in conversion levels and/or the use of methanol as alcohol to mimic the results of the base catalyzed transesterification reaction are currently ongoing as a consequence of the present legal regulations for biodiesel (European biodiesel standard EN 14214). The current research allows for a unique opportunity to directly compare of oil feedstock species of vegetable oils such as sunflower, safflower, canola, soy, olive oils and waste sunflower oils with the consequence biodiesel productivity of by alkali catalysis
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