Conversion of Fish Oil into Biodiesel Fuels via Acid-base Catalyzed Transesterification

Fish oil was extracted from fish waste and converted to biodiesel fuels through acid-base catalyzed transesterification using sulfuric acid and potassium hydroxide with methanol. The oil was pretreated with 1% sulfuric acid by weight of oil to reduce the free fatty acid content of fish oil. Then conditions of the base catalyzed step, such as catalyst concentration, molar ratio of methanol, as well as reaction temperature, were optimized. The study revealed that 0.75% of KOH, a 6:1 molar ratio of methanol, and a reaction temperature of 60°C were the optimal conditions. Fuel properties of the produced biodiesels were assessed and found enhanced after acid-base transesterification. Furthermore, the values met the specified limits according to the ASTM standards. Blending of optimum biodiesel sample with petro diesel was conducted on a volume basis. The study indicated that biodiesel had slight effects on the original properties of the petro diesel. Distillation curves of the better biodiesel sample, fish oil, petro diesel, and B30 samples were also determined.