TITLE:
The Effect of Reaction Temperature, Catalyst Concentration and Alcohol Ratio in the Production of Biodiesel from Raw and Purified Castor Oil
AUTHORS:
Sandile Brendon Masango, Peterson Thokozani Ngema, Olusegun Ayodeji Olagunju, Suresh Ramsuroop
KEYWORDS:
Biodiesel Fuel, Raw Castor Oil, Refined Castor Oil, Transesterification Process
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Chemical Engineering and Science,
Vol.14 No.3,
June
5,
2024
ABSTRACT: In this study, a homogeneous alkaline catalyst was used in the production of biodiesel from raw and refined castor oil feedstock. The effect of potassium hydroxide (KOH) as a catalyst between the two feedstocks, raw and refined castor oil was compared. The transesterification technique was utilized in this study, aiming to investigate the effect of different parameters, which include the reaction temperature, methanol-to-oil mole ratio, and catalyst concentration at a constant period of 90 minutes. The result revealed the performance of the KOH catalyst on raw castor oil yielded 98.49% FAME, which was higher than the refined castor oil which yielded 97.9% FAME. The optimal conditions obtained from refined castor oil were applied to raw castor oil because of the same properties. The fuel quality of castor oil and produced biodiesel were tested for physicochemical properties.