Abstract
Biodiesel has attracted considerable interest as an alternative biofuel due to its many advantages over conventional petroleum diesel such as inherent lubricity, low toxicity, renewable raw materials, biodegradability, superior flash point, and low carbon footprint. However, high production costs, poor low temperature operability, variability of fuel quality from different feedstocks, and low storage stability negatively impact more widespread adoption. In order to reduce production costs, inexpensive inedible oilseed alternatives are needed for biodiesel production. This study utilized inedible tamarind (Tamarind indica) seed oil as an alternative biodiesel feedstock, which contained linoleic (31.8%), oleic (17.1%), and lauric (12.0%) acids as the primary fatty acids. A simple and cost-effective high vacuum fractional distillation (HVFD) methodology was used to separate the oil into three fractions (F1, F2, and F3). Subsequent transesterification utilizing basic, acidic, and enzymatic catalysis produced biodiesel of consistent quality and overcame the problem of low temperature biodiesel performance. The most desirable biodiesel with regard to low temperature operability was produced from fractions F2 and F3, which were enriched in unsaturated fatty acids relative to tamarind seed oil. Other properties such as density and cetane number were within the limits specified in the American and European biodiesel standards.
Highlights
IntroductionThe belief that biofuels can reduce dependence on petroleum fuels and mitigate climate change has prompted many to encourage their production and use as alternatives to fossil fuels such as conventional petroleum diesel fuel (petrodiesel) and gasoline [1]
Acid values of tamarind seed oil (TSO), F1, F2, and F3, and the residual oil were 0.56, 0.61, 0.56, 0.50, and 4.51 mg KOH/g, respectively. These results indicated the presence of a small amount of free fatty acids (FFA) in TSO, F1, F2, and F3, which may have negatively impacted base-catalyzed transesterification, as mentioned previously
This study demonstrated that TSO is a promising new alternative, low-cost, non-food feedstock for production of biodiesel that does not compete with food production
Summary
The belief that biofuels can reduce dependence on petroleum fuels and mitigate climate change has prompted many to encourage their production and use as alternatives to fossil fuels such as conventional petroleum diesel fuel (petrodiesel) and gasoline [1]. Biofuels play an important role in the energy market, as they have combustion properties similar to those of fossil fuels. Biodiesel is generally superior to petrodiesel with regard to cetane number (CN), lubricity, flash point, biodegradability, renewability, and carbon footprint [2]. Technical disadvantages of biodiesel relative to petrodiesel include inferior low temperature properties, high production costs, hydrolytic stability, and storage stability [3,4]
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