Production of Biodiesel from Jatropha Oil (Jatropha curcas) in Pilot Plant

Abstract—In this research, among the chemical properties, free fatty acid value of jatropha oil was determined to be 22.6%, 5.23% and 8.8 % respectively. Total, free and combined glycerol percent of raw jatropha oil were 8.27 %, 0.58 % and 7.69 % respectively. Yield of biodiesel from jatropha oil at optimal sodium hydroxide catalyst concentration 1%, reaction temperature 65°C, reaction time one hour and molar ratio of methanol to oil 6:1 was 92 % from lab scale. Yield of biodiesel from jatropha oil at optimal potassium hydroxide catalyst concentration 1%, reaction temperature – room temperature, reaction time 5 hours and molar ratio of ethanol to oil 8:1 was 90% from the lab scale. Biodiesel was also produced from pilot plant at optimum transesterification process condition as stated above. The yield of biodiesel (methyl ester) and ethyl ester were 92 % and 90% on the basis of refined jatropha oil in the pilot plant scale. The capacity of biodiesel pilot plant is 30 gal / day. The fuel properties of biodiesel, namely cetane index, flash point, pour point, kinematic viscosity, specific gravity, color, copper strip corrosion, acid value, water and sediment and distillation at 90 % recovery, were found to be within the limits of American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) specifications for biodiesel and diesel fuel. The fuel consumption of the engine which used biodiesel produced from free fatty acid content 5.23 % in raw jatropha oil is more than the fuel consumption of the engine which used biodiesel produced from free fatty acid content 1 % in refined raw jatropha oil. Keywords—renewable energy, biodiesel, transesterification, methyl ester, ethyl ester, pilot plant. I.