Biodiesel Production and Characterization from Used Vegetable Oil

Abstract

Biodiesel is a fuel produced from renewable resources; it is a clean alternative fuel, which has drawn the attention of energy researchers for the last two decades due to the disturbing effect of climate change caused by diesel fuel. This paper focuses on showcasing the qualities of biodiesel produced from used vegetable oil and the positive impact on the alarming change in climate today. This paper presents an experimental investigation on production of biodiesel from used vegetable oil (UVO) gotten from a road side bean cake (akara) seller. The oil that was intended to be thrown out was de-odoured and filtered to remove impurities. The filtered oil was then used for biodiesel production and characterized with physical and fuel properties such as density, viscosity, cloud point, refractive index, specific gravity, ash content, moisture content, flash point and cloud point. The results obtained were afterwards compared to ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) and EN (Europe’s) international standards. Two biodiesels samples were produced at different temperatures but the same timings. The biodiesel were produced at 700C at 40mins (biodiesel A) and 1000C at 40mins (biodiesel B) with values of specific gravity (0.98 kg/m3; 0.90 kg/m3), density (936kg/m3; 882kg/m3), kinematic viscosity (1.5mm/s2; 5.5 mm/s2), cloud point (150C; 20C), flash point (2600C min; 2000C min), moisture content (0.07%; 0.04%), refractive index (1.4609; 1.4398) and ash point (0.24%; 0.01%) respectively. On comparison, biodiesel A couldn’t match up to the international standards while biodiesel matched up to the standards given.

Physicochemical Characterization and Butanol Impact on Canola and Waste Cooking Oil Biodiesels: A Comparative Analysis with Binary Biodiesel Blends

“…It has been observed that the flash points of C100, W100, and binary biodiesel blends comply with EN 14214 and ASTM D6751 standards. The flash point of biodiesel not only influences its volatility but also a higher flash point reduces the risk of fire, making the transportation and storage processes of biodiesel safer compared to diesel fuels (Odega et al, 2021). The addition of butanol to binary biodiesel blends has lowered their flash points, falling outside the standard range.…”

Determination of Some Physicochemical Properties of Binary Biodiesel and Binary Biodiesel-Diesel Blend Fuels Obtained from Waste Pumpkin Seed- Camelina Oils

“…The flash points of all biodiesel and fuel blends were found to be within EN 14214, EN 16709 and ASTM D6751 standards. The flash point of biodiesel is also affected by its volatility; higher flash point temperatures reduce the risk of fire and make biodiesel safer to handle and store than diesel fuels (Odega et al, 2021). The flash point of biodiesel and binary biodiesel blends varied between 140 oC and 145 oC.…”