Abstract
Given the great energy demand to meet the needs of modern society, it is essential that new alternatives to replace fossil diesel are studied. And biodiesel is an alternative that has been gaining prominence on the world stage, mainly with the use of vegetable oils with a high lipid content, such as Pachira aquatica Aubl, also known as munguba. Given the above, the objective of this work was to extract the oil from the seeds of Pachira aquatica, evaluate the physicochemical characteristics of the oil and define the best conditions for catalytic mixing with temperature variation in the production of biodiesel from the oil obtained. Thus, the acidity index, saponification, refraction, peroxide, water content and fatty acid profile of the oil were evaluated. Fourteen treatments of biodiesel produced with different amounts of sulfuric acid and temperature were evaluated. They were analyzed for water content, specific mass, kinematic viscosity at 40 ºC, refractive index and ester content. It was found that the lipid content of Pachira aquatica seeds was 42.19% and its physical chemistry analysis showed that it can be used in the production of biofuels. There was a greater presence of saturated fatty acids, with a predominance of palmitic acid with 81.95%. Biodiesel produced from oil, on the other hand, showed higher production of esters in relation to the volume used at temperatures of 60 ºC and 0.6 mL of sulfuric acid, and that its properties showed that the plant can be a possible alternative for the production of biodiesel.
Highlights
Among the viable alternatives, biodiesel appears as the main alternative to replace petroleum
Each 3 g envelope was inserted into the rods of the Fat Determination System (Tecnal TE-044), which is a continuous Soxhlet extraction method, where 100 methyl esters (mL) of petroleum ether was added for 90 min at a temperature of 90 oC; the temperature was increased to 120 oC for another 40 min, aiming at the total recovery of the Petroleum Ether used
The lipid content of 43.11%, found in the seeds of Pachira aquatica, is considered high compared to other oilseeds, such as soybean, with values between 16 and 22%, and is the main source of raw material for the production of biodiesel
Summary
Biodiesel appears as the main alternative to replace petroleum. The similarity of the properties of biodiesel from oil and fat to petroleum makes its potential favorable as a fuel. Since 2006, Brazil has been a self-sufficient country in oil supply, the use of biofuels is thanks to the discussion on climate change and due to the attempt to increase renewable energies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) (Kohlhepp, 2010). According to the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels – ANP, approximately 18% of all fuel consumed in Brazil is currently renewable (ANP, 2019). In 2020, biodiesel production was 6,434,453 m3 (ANP, 2020)
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