Biodiesal Production from Sal (Shorea Robusta) Seed Oil
Abstract
Biodiesel from renewable sources like vegetable oils, animal fats etc. are significantly evaluated as an alternative to fossil fuels. In this context, the present work deals with an underutilized vegetable oil known as”Shorea robusta” or Sal seed oil” as a potential feedstock for biodiesel production which can considerably increase the feedstock availab-ility. The production potential of sal seed oil is a gigantic 1.5 million tons a year and the geo-climatic penetration of the plant is sub-continental with special presence in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. In the present work, pressure filtered Sal seed oil was transesterified sal seed methyl ester (Biodiesel) with 1:9 oil to methanol molar ratio, 0.5% by weight of catalyst (potassium hydroxide), 65°C reaction temp-erature and 450 rpm agitation speed leading to an ester yield of 96.8%. The results of physico-chemical properties indicated that kinematic viscosity (S.SeSt), density (0.884 gm/cc), heating values (40.28 MJ/kg) of the Sal oil methyl ester (SOME) was well within the ASTM/EN standard limits. Oxidation stability was more than 06 hours in the biodiesel rancimat. The fatty acid profiles of showed richness of saturated fatty acids like Pentadecanoic acid and Mysterie acid.
Authors
H.S. Pali , N.kumar