Biodiesel production from Hevea Brasiliensis seed oil

Abstract

The Hevea Brasiliensis (HB) seed is a potential raw material for biodiesel production, having a high oil content. However, it is inappropriate for biodiesel production due to the free fatty acids (FFA) value, requiring an adjustment of this parameter. Thus, this work aimed to develop a treatment capable of reducing the acidity content and enabling the quality this biofuel. Firstly, the acid index was decreased by an esterification reaction using sulphuric acid and methanol. Under the best condition corresponding to 1.5% sulphuric acid and 1:2 oil:methanol (v:v), the acidity reduction achieved was a range of 99.55%, and after this, the basic transesterification method was employed to produce the Hevea Brasiliensis biodiesel. As a result, the condition mentioned before shows 98% of ester content and the main physicochemical characteristics required by the market as acidity index, specific gravity and corrosivity to copper.