Potential of <i>Chrozophora tinctoria</i> Seed Oil as a Biodiesel Resource

Biodiesel is a renewable fuel that has been widely used in recent years. There are various resources used as biodiesel feedstocks, including animal fats, waste oils, and vegetable oils. In the present study, <i>Chrozophora tinctoria</i> seed oil is introduced as a new biodiesel feedstock...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Seyed Salar Hoseini, Gholamhassan Najafi, Armin Fattahpour Moazzez, Saeid Hazrati, Mohammad Taghi Ebadi, Talal Yusaf
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-05-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/10/3473
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Summary:Biodiesel is a renewable fuel that has been widely used in recent years. There are various resources used as biodiesel feedstocks, including animal fats, waste oils, and vegetable oils. In the present study, <i>Chrozophora tinctoria</i> seed oil is introduced as a new biodiesel feedstock. <i>C. tinctoria</i> is a weed and non-edible plant. So, the primary cost of this resource is very low, and hence it can be considered as a biodiesel source. This plant can also grow in most weather conditions. In the present study, the research team tried to produce biodiesel from <i>C. tinctoria</i> seeds through a transesterification reaction. To intensify the transesterification reaction, an ultrasonic device was used. In order to perform the transesterification reaction, potassium hydroxide was used as a catalyst. Important parameters, such as the reaction temperature, reaction time, molar ratio of methanol, and concentration of the catalyst, were adjusted. Based on the adjusted conditions, a biodiesel yield of 84% was attained. The properties of the <i>C. tinctoria</i> biodiesel was compared with the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard. The results show the properties of a biodiesel: the density, kinematic viscosity, pour point, flash point, cloud point, and acid number are 0.868 g/cm<sup>3</sup>, 3.74 mPa, −7 °C, 169 °C, 4 °C, and 0.43 mg, respectively. The specification properties of <i>C. tinctoria</i> biodiesel can thus pass the requirement of the ASTM standard. So, <i>C. tinctoria</i> seed oil can be used as a suitable fuel source instead of petroleum-derived fuels.
ISSN:2076-3417