Production and Evaluation of Fractionated Tamarind Seed Oil Methyl Esters as a New Source of Biodiesel

Biodiesel has attracted considerable interest as an alternative biofuel due to its many advantages over conventional petroleum diesel such as inherent lubricity, low toxicity, renewable raw materials, biodegradability, superior flash point, and low carbon footprint. However, high production costs, p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energies (Basel) 2021-11, Vol.14 (21), p.7148
Main Authors: Mushtaq, Ayesha, Hanif, Muhammad Asif, Zahid, Muhammad, Rashid, Umer, Mushtaq, Zahid, Zubair, Muhammad, Moser, Bryan R., Alharthi, Fahad A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biodegradability
Biodegradation
biodiesel
Biodiesel fuels
Biofuels
Catalysis
Cetane number
Cold
Diesel
Diesel fuels
Distillation
Enzymes
Esters
fatty acid methyl esters
Fatty acids
Flash point
Fractional distillation
fractionation
High vacuum
Low temperature
Lubricity
non-edible
Oils & fats
Oilseeds
Potassium
Production costs
Raw materials
Seeds
Shelf life
Storage stability
Tamarind
Toxicity
Transesterification
Vegetable oils
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Summary:Biodiesel has attracted considerable interest as an alternative biofuel due to its many advantages over conventional petroleum diesel such as inherent lubricity, low toxicity, renewable raw materials, biodegradability, superior flash point, and low carbon footprint. However, high production costs, poor low temperature operability, variability of fuel quality from different feedstocks, and low storage stability negatively impact more widespread adoption. In order to reduce production costs, inexpensive inedible oilseed alternatives are needed for biodiesel production. This study utilized inedible tamarind (Tamarind indica) seed oil as an alternative biodiesel feedstock, which contained linoleic (31.8%), oleic (17.1%), and lauric (12.0%) acids as the primary fatty acids. A simple and cost-effective high vacuum fractional distillation (HVFD) methodology was used to separate the oil into three fractions (F1, F2, and F3). Subsequent transesterification utilizing basic, acidic, and enzymatic catalysis produced biodiesel of consistent quality and overcame the problem of low temperature biodiesel performance. The most desirable biodiesel with regard to low temperature operability was produced from fractions F2 and F3, which were enriched in unsaturated fatty acids relative to tamarind seed oil. Other properties such as density and cetane number were within the limits specified in the American and European biodiesel standards.
ISSN:1996-1073
1996-1073
DOI:10.3390/en14217148