Obtention and characterization of coconut babassu derivatives

Abstract

Babassu (Orbignya sp.) is a palm with extraordinary socioeconomic and ecologic importance found in humid tropical areas in Brazil, especially in frequently burned and degraded landscapes. There are several uses for babassu oil; however, its potential for providing other industrial products remains unexploited, due to the lack of scale and production structure. Oil and presscake extracted from kernels are industrially produced, while the remaining parts of the babassu coconut have the potential to add value as byproducts. This study aimed to establish conditions for the preparation of the raw material fruit of babassu for oil extraction by pressing and producing biodiesel by ethanolic transesterification. Babassu coconuts were dried at 75 and 90 °C. The separation of the fractions rich in fiber, starch, kernel and mesocarp was performed in appropriate equipments. The starch content in the mesocarp fractions of babassu coconuts dried at 75 and at 90 °C were 54 and 56 %, respectively and lipids represented 65 % of the kernel. Oil and press cake were obtained through hydraulic and continuous press, biodiesel was produced and the quality of products was compared. The total of saturated fatty acid in babassu oil was between 78 and 82 %, and the total of unsaturated fatty acids that promote good oxidative stability in the oil was in the range of 17 to 20 %. Oil obtained by cold pressing extraction and its biodiesel had better results in terms of quality. The quality of oils is within the Codex standard and biodiesel from oil extracted by cold pressing had higher oxidative stability. Keywords: biofuel, quality, integral use IntroductionThe world's increasing demand for energy makes biodiesel an alternative that can replace oil-derived fuels due to its renewable, biodegradable and low-carbonemission profile. Among several plant species capable of producing vegetable oil as raw material for biodiesel production, palms are considered the most promising species. In the eastern Amazon, the babassu palm (Orbignya sp.) is one of the most important Brazilian palm trees that attracts special attention. The fruit of the babassu comprises epicarp, mesocarp, endocarp and kernel each accounting for 11, 23, 59 and 7 % of the total mass, respectively (Soler et al., 2007). Harvesting is limited to the collection and transporting of coconuts to where they will be broken up for the kernels to be extracted. Activities related to the babassu kernels generate about 300,000 jobs, from collection, normally undertaken by the "babassu breakers", to the oil refining location. The state of Maranhão is the largest babassu producer in Brazil, responsible for the production of almost 80 % of the country's output, corresponding to 120 tons (t) in the 2005 base year. Local industries produce about 60 t per year of babassu oil, (Silva et al., 2010).Kernels are the most intensive components used in babassu oil extraction because of their lauric acid level (Soler et al., 2007). Estimated kernel production is 1.409 million t (IBGE, 2010). On the...

Biofuels from oilseed fruits using different thermochemical processes: opportunities and challenges

“…165 Transesterification from babassu oil using ethanol (purity 99.0%) and sodium methylate solution (30.0%) as catalysts was performed, and two mechanical extraction procedures were used: hydraulic pressing (cold), and continuous pressing with a stainless steel expeller. 27 The oils were analyzed and the results demonstrated that, for the dried babassu at 75 °C, cold pressing gave lower losses (1.7%) and continuous pressing higher losses (13.0%) during the extraction process. The oil yield was 28.0% with continuous pressing, while that in the hydraulic pressing was around 49.0%.…”

“…The displacement of alcohol from an ester by other alcohol, in a process similar to hydrolysis except using alcohol to replace the water, is known as transesterification or alcoholysis. 25,27,157,158 When methanol is used, this process is called triglyceride methanolysis and it has been widely used for reducing the triglycerides' high viscosity. Transesterification is one of the reversible reactions and proceeds essentially by mixing the reactants.…”

“…This means that cold pressing can produce high-quality biodiesel with higher oxidative stability. 27 Da Silva et al 166 evaluated the transesterification reaction from babassu and soybean oils using Co(II) and Cu(II) as catalyst. The biodiesel was prepared using 100 g oil, 20 g methanol, and 2 g catalyst (Co or Cu), and 3 drops of NaOH solution (0.01 mol L −1 ).…”

“…19 Many studies showed that biomasses from oilseed fruit and its wastes can be used for biofuel and bioenergy production by different thermochemical processes -for instance, direct combustion, pyrolysis, oxy-fuel combustion, gasification, and transesterification. 7,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] These thermal conversion methods vary depending on the oilseed fruits used as feedstock for biofuel production. The characteristics of the biofuels produced also vary depending on the feedstock and method used.…”

Economia Solidária: A Realidade Das Quebradeiras De Coco Babaçu No Interior Do Brasil

“…Um exemplo clássico é o estudo do óleo de babaçu na indústria automotiva, sendo este adotado para a produção de biocombustíveis, outra utilização do babaçu no ramo de com-bustível está na sua capacidade calorífica, sendo possível a fabricação de briquetes em substituição aos combustíveis fósseis como o carvão para aquecimento de caldeiras em processos industriais. Ademais, outro grande interesse no babaçu está em suas aplicações na indústria de cosméticos e farmácia (SOUZA et al, 2011;ROUSSET et al, 2013;FERRARI;SOLER, 2015).…”