Microwave-assisted transesterification of jatropha and waste frying palm oil

Abstract

The utilisation of non-edible oil as a biodiesel feedstock is expected to minimise the utilisation of food-grade oil for industrial applications. The microwave-assisted transesterification process was adopted to obtain the biodiesel from jatropha oil and waste frying palm oil (WFPO). The transesterification process was carried out in the presence of methanol with a methanol to oil ratio of 12:1 and a catalyst (sodium hydroxide). The effect of transesterification reaction parameters such as quantity of the catalyst, reaction temperature and time on the biodiesel yield and purity has been investigated. The optimised reaction temperature, time and catalyst concentration was 65 °C, 7 min and 1% by weight, respectively. The highest percentage yield (89.7 for jatropha and 88.63 for WFPO) and purity (99.65 for jatropha and 99.45 for WFPO) of biodiesel was observed with the optimised process parameters. The fuel properties of the obtained biodiesel were tested according to European Union draft standards. The obtained results suggested that microwave radiation may be employed in the transesterifcation process to reduce the reaction time and temperature.