Biodiesel Production Using Hexane as Co-Solvent

Abstract

As demand for petroleum is increasing day by day, also the emissions of harmful gases, as carbon dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, are increasing. Therefore, the need for alternative fuels such as biofuels is increasing. This has led to the development of fuels from various renewable sources, such as fats and oils. Several fuels can be derived from these feedstocks. One of them is biodiesel. Biodiesel is a mono alkyl ester of vegetable oils and animal fats produced mainly by transesterification of oils and fats with alcohols in the presence of acid, alkali or enzyme-based catalysts. The co-solvent helps the reaction to take place in single/homogeneous phase and hence, facilitate the reaction (better mass transfer) to proceed, reducing the reaction time. Various researches have been carried out for the production of biodiesel from various feedstocks by various methods. But till date, no research is carried for the production of biodiesel from Jatropha oil by using hexane as co-solvent. The objective of this research work was to produce biodiesel from Jatropha oil by transesterification method using hexane as co-solvent, to determine optimum conditions (co-solvent and catalyst content) for biodiesel production and finally, to determine various properties of the produced biodiesel according to ASTM methods.