Biodiesel from Nahor Seed Oil: Synthesis, Evaluation, and Compatibility with Petrodiesel

The scarcity of fossil fuels, adverse climate effects due to fossil fuel consumption, and environmental concerns raised increased attention for renewable energy. Biodiesel has high potential as a renewable energy source and can substitute petroleum-derived fuel without any modification of the conventional diesel engine. In this contribution, biodiesel is obtained from Mesua ferrea L. (Nahor oil) by a three-step process consisting of saponification, acidification, and esterification as a renewable fuel. Nahor seed kernel gives maximum oil content of 58.6% (v/w) through the soxhlet extraction method by using n -hexane as solvent. An enhanced saponification reaction (~two-fold increase of initial reaction rate) was evident in the presence of CaO rather than NaOH and NaCl. A faster and more complete acidification reaction to free fatty acid (FFA) was evidenced for a 1 : 1.5 molar ratio of soap to acid (HCl) at 70°C temperature and ambient pressure. Biodiesel formation was found optimal for a 1 : 6 molar ratio of FFA to methanol at 60°C and atmospheric pressure, in presence of HCl as a catalyst. 1 H NMR (Nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopy of produced biodiesel confirms the full up-gradation of triglyceride (Nahor oil) to biodiesel. Detailed characterization of the derived biodiesel shows most of the properties are compatible with petrodiesel standards to a certain extent despite high pour and cloud points. Moreover, biodiesel derived from Nahor seed oil shows better compatibility with petrodiesel than sunflower or Koroch seed oil.