Blighia unijugata and Luffa cylindrica Seed Oils: Renewable Sources of Energy for Sustainable Development in Rural Africa

Self-sufficiency in energy requirement is critical to the success of any developing economy. Apart from the search for alternatives, there is a need to achieve energy independence, directing much focus on biofuels. Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic, and essentially free of sulfur a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bioenergy research 2012-09, Vol.5 (3), p.713-718
Main Authors: Adewuyi, Adewale, Oderinde, Rotimi A, Rao, B. V. S. K., Prasad, R. B. N., Anjaneyulu, B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biodegradation
Biodiesel fuels
Biofuels
Biomass energy
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Emissions
Fatty acids
Life Sciences
Luffa cylindrica
Oils & fats
Plant Breeding/Biotechnology
Plant Ecology
Plant Genetics and Genomics
Plant Sciences
Renewable energy sources
Renewable resources
Rural areas
Seeds
Studies
Sulfur
Sulfur compounds
Sustainable agriculture
Sustainable development
Vegetable oils
Wood Science & Technology
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Summary:Self-sufficiency in energy requirement is critical to the success of any developing economy. Apart from the search for alternatives, there is a need to achieve energy independence, directing much focus on biofuels. Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic, and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics. Oil was extracted from the seeds of Blighia unijugata and Luffa cylindrica , subjected to chemical characterization and biodiesel production. The oil yield from the seed of B. unijugata was 50.82 ± 1.20% while that of L. cylindrica was 39.10 ± 0.20%. The biodiesel produced had ester content above 98%. The flash point of the biodiesel from B. unijugata and L. cylindrica was above 120°C while the phosphorus content was also below 1 ppm in both cases. The oxidative stability of B. unijugata was 44.30 ± 0.30 h, while that of L. cylindrica was lower than this value due to its high unsaturation. The copper strip corrosion value of the biodiesel was also found to be 1A. This study showed that the high free fatty acid content of B. unijugata and L. cylindrica seed oil can be reduced in a one-step pretreatment of esterification reaction using H 2 SO 4 as catalyst thus reducing the problem of soap formation encountered when using oil with high free fatty acid for the production of biodiesel.
ISSN:1939-1234
1939-1242
DOI:10.1007/s12155-012-9180-8