Preparation and Characterization of Biodiesel from Non-Edible Oils

Efforts are being made throughout the World to reduce the consumption of liquid petroleum fuels wherever is possible. Biodiesel is recently gaining prominence as a substitute for petroleum based diesel mainly due to environmental considerations and depletion of vital resources like petroleum and coal. According to Indian scenario, the demand for petroleum diesel is increasing day by day hence there is a need to find out an appropriate solution. Under Indian condition only such plants can be considered for bio diesel, which produce non edible oil in appreciable quantity and can be grown in large scale on non cropped marginal lands and waste lands. However, the current utilization of non-edible oilseeds is very low .Bio-diesel has become more attractive recently because of the fact that it is made from renewable resources .Although short term tests using neat vegetable oil showed promising results, longer tests led to injector coking, more engine deposits, ring sticking and thickening of the engine lubricant. These experiences led to the use of modified vegetable oil as a fuel. Although there are many ways and procedures to convert vegetable oil into a Diesel like fuel, the transesterification process was found to be the most viable process.