Application of Oil Extracted from Cashew Nut Peel (Anacardium occidentale) as an Antioxidant for Biodiesel

Abstract

The present work aims to extract and test cashew nut peel oil as a natural antioxidant in the oxidative stabilization of biodiesel. Therefore, determinations of the ideal time of Soxhlet and thermal extractions, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses, and evaluation of the oxidative stability by Rancimat method were carried out. FTIR analyses revealed that the 3rd cycle of extraction was sufficient to extract all the oil, with an average yield of 30.0%. For the thermal extraction of the laboratory technical cashew nut peel oil, the best extraction, based on statistical analysis, was 60 min, yielding 20.0%. The FTIR analysis of the extracted cashew nut peel oil showed characteristic peaks of phenolic groups and organic acids, showing differences in the intensities of the absorption bands. The oxidative stability showed induction period of 8 h 40 min for the hydraulic press extraction, 10 h 35 min for the Soxhlet extraction, and 10 h 65 min for the industrial technical extraction of the cashew nut peel oil. All values were below the 12-h limit established by the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP). The technical cashew nut peel oil extracted in the laboratory presented an induction period of 11 h 12 min, close to that recommended by ANP, proving to be a promising natural antioxidant. Cardanol presented satisfactory results with 25 h 22 min, double that suggested by ANP. Thus, cashew nut peel oil showed important and promising results as a natural antioxidant for biodiesel.