Preparation of Biodiesel from Crude Rubber Seed Oil by Alkaline Transesterification

Abstract

Abstract: This paper is focused on the preparation of biodiesel from crude rubber seed oil with high free fatty acids (FFA) content. The rubber seeds were collected in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province. Two-step synthesis was selected to obtain the product, that is, acid catalyzed esterification was carried out first to decrease the FFA content, then methyl esters of fatty acids can be formed by alkaline transesterification. The reaction conditions of alkaline transesterification were investigated. The results show that the optimum technique is to carry out the reaction at 60°C for 1.5h, with the methanol-to-oil molar ratio 6:1, the catalyst amount 1.0% (g NaOH/ g oil). The yield can reach 75%. GC analysis shows the content of methyl esters of fatty acids is 82.29%. Some properties of biodiesel prepared are also presented.