Abstract:
Petroleum product exhaustion and natural debasement are twin crises through which
the world is defied. Waste cooking oil, castor and sesame oil were taken into consideration and their
physio-chemical properties were observed. Biodiesel as produced via alkali trans-esterification and
monitored by varying types of lye (KOH/NaOH) concentration i.e., 0.5, 1, and 1.5%.The ratio of
methanol to oil was from 4:1, 3:1, 2:1 and 1:1with reaction time of 30 minutes and temperature of
60°C. Under optimized conditions maximum biodiesel was produced from waste cooking oil, castor oil
with 1% KOH and sesame oil with 1% NaOH. The maximum biodiesel yield calculated for waste
cooking oil and sesame oil was 98.78% and 82.19% for castor oil. HPLC was used to confirm the
conversion of triglycerides into fatty acids methyl esters. Utilization of low cost feed stocks and further
study of Physico-chemical properties of biodiesel will contribute in producing eco-friendly biodiesel
for engines.
