Properties of Manchurian apricot (Prunus mandshurica Skv.) and Siberian apricot (Prunus sibirica L.) seed kernel oils and evaluation as biodiesel feedstocks

Abstract

This study presents the first reported evaluation of Manchurian apricot (Prunus mandshurica Skv.) seed kernel oil as a promising feedstock for biodiesel preparation, including a comparison with Siberian apricot (Prunus sibirica L.) oil. The oil content of the Manchurian apricot kernels (55.17±5.52%) was somewhat higher than that of the Siberian apricot kernels. Similar to Siberian apricot, Manchurian apricot oil has low acid value, indicating that the two oils enabled direct base-catalyzed transesterified for biodiesel production without acid pretreatment. The fatty acid compositions of Manchurian apricot and Siberian apricot oils determined results showed a high percentage of monounsaturated fatty acids (69.15% and 67.78%, respectively). Other than cetane number and oxidation stability, the properties of biodiesel made from the two oils conformed to EN 14214-08, ASTM D6751-10 and GB/T 20828-07 standards. In general, Manchurian apricot represents a potentially useful biodiesel feedstock.