PRODUCTION OF BIO-DIESEL FROM JATROPHA CURCAS SEED USING IN-SITU TECHNIQUE: EFFECT OF CATALYST AMOUNT AND ALCOHOL-SEED RATIO

Abstract

The effect of alcohol seed ratio(0.5,1.5 & 2.0) and initial catalyst amount(0.5,1.0 & 1.5%) on the in-situ production of biodiesel from raw Jatropha Curcas seed was studied at a reaction temperature of 60⁰C and reaction time of 120min.  Central composite experimental design was applied to evaluate effects of alcohol-seed weight ratio (0.5 – 2.0) and initial catalyst amount (0.5 – 1.5%).  Initial catalyst amount and alcohol seed ratio was found to have significant (P<0.05) effects on the yield.  Initial catalyst amount was the more important factor and had a positive influence on the yield than alcohol seed ratio which does not significantly affect the yield as a single factor. Due to formation of by-products (soaps) caused by excessive amount of catalyst and excess alcohol leading to difficult ester separation from glycerol, there was a general reduction in Jatropha Curcas  ethyl-ester as levels of catalyst and alcohol seed ratio increased.  A second-order model was obtained to predict the yield as a function of all factors. The model predicted well the observed data with a R² value of 0.985 and a non-significant Lack-of-Fit (P<0.05). The biodiesel obtained, compared favorably with the ASTM D6751-02 standard for biodiesel but the viscosity.