Response surface modelling and optimisation of biodiesel production from Avocado plant (Persea americana) oil

Abstract

ABSTRACT Avocado (Persea americana) is a plant native to tropical America but available in most other tropical areas of the world. In comparison to other fruits, the avocado contains a significant amount of oils which are highly rich in fatty acids. This study considered the response surface modelling and optimisation of the production of biodiesel from Avocado plant (P. americana) oil using methanol and NaOH catalyst. The basis of this work was a reliable dataset already presented in the open literature. An empirical correlation was developed from the available dataset to predict the biodiesel yield of Avocado plant (P. americana) oil based on known levels of the key process parameters and an ANOVA showed it to be significant. It was also observed that temperature, methanol–oil ratio and time are the more significant process factors. Numerical optimisation revealed that the optimal values of the factors are 61.63°C temperature, methanol–oil ratio of 7.21 mol/mol, catalyst loading of 1.15%w/w and process time of 88.61 min to give a predicted optimal biodiesel yield of 97.32%.