Production and characterization of Cymbopogon citratus biofuel and its optimization study for efficient and cleaner production blended with water and cetane improver: A response surface methodology approach

[Display omitted] •Cymbopogon citratus grass was selected as novel feedstock for biofuel production.•Water and DTBP in CCB were proposed for efficient and greener energy source.•A multi-response RSM tool was applied to evaluate the optimum level.•Optimum level of CCB, water, and DTBP is 22.08%, 12.23%, and 1.31%•Proposed fuel combination would reduce the fossil fuel demand by about 35%. The use of low viscous biofuel derived from grasses has a better prospect of turning into a renewable source of diesel fuel. Cymbopogon citratus, a profoundly unsaturated fatty acid grass, is proposed as feedstock for biofuel production as none of the assessments tried to explore the Cymbopogon citratus bio-oil (CCB) as an alternative source for diesel fuel with reasonable fuel change. The current study intends to extract low viscous biofuel from Cymbopogon citratus grass and work on its energy and environmental features by adding an optimum amount of water and Di-tert-butyl peroxide (DTBP). A steam refining process was employed to extract the CCB, and the fuel characterizations were assessed and quantified by FTIR and GC–MS investigations. Since the individual impact of CCB, water, and DTBP on energy and environmental boundaries is unique, a response surface methodology was applied to achieve the optimum level of individuals for overall efficient and cleaner production. The fuel characteristics report that the extricated CCB's chemical substances are tantamount to ordinary diesel and can be suggested as an alternative source for fuel applications. The optimization results demonstrate that the coefficient of determination is significantly closer to one, and the chance of error is less than 0.1%. The optimum value of CCB, water, and DTBP is determined as 22.08%, 12.23%, and 1.31%, respectively, and the energy and environmental parameters agree well with the predicted values. The progress in the combustion parameters is also documented for the test fuel while the fuel modification parameters approach their optimal state. The proposed fuel blend would lessen the demand for fossil fuel energy sources by around 35%.