Potentiality of Selected Plants Species of the Euphorbiaceae and Moraceae family for Biofuel Production

Abstract

In recent years, the increase in industrialization, motorization and levels of greenhouse pollution from the combustion of fossil fuel has promoted interest in the use of biofuels worldwide. The large dependence on biofuels is encouraging from environmental and economic point of view, as this research can significantly uplift the economic conditions of rural farmers and thus contribute to national economy. Looking for the other sources of energy is of paramount importance in the view of high growth rate of energy consumption, high share of coal in domestic energy demand, heavy dependence on imports for meeting demands for petroleum fuels and volatility of world oil market. Biofuels are produced from biomass resources which are a sustainable energy source for future. This study was aimed to screen the potentiality of the latex bearing plants belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae and Moraceae (both are adapted to semi-arid areas). Plant extracts were prepared using different solvent mixtures and the percentage yield from biocrude varied from 0.7% to 6.93%. The extracted oil fraction was subjected to Thin Layer Chromatography using a carrier solvent mixture of petroleum ether, diethyl ether, and acetone (80: 20: 1) against a standard mixture of oleyl alcohol and oleic acid. The 1H-NMR spectral analysis confirmed the possible presence of aliphatic hydrocarbons. Elemental analysis of the plant extracts indicated high carbon content which can be a good indicator of the conversion capability of botanochemicals for low molecular weight fuels or petrochemicals.