Production of biodiesel from non-edible Parkia biglobosa oil under acidic condition

Abstract In this study biodiesel was produced from Parkia biglobosa via optimization of transesterification reaction condition (methanol to oil ratio, catalyst concentration, reaction temperature and reaction time) under sulphuric acid catalyst (H2SO4). Oil was first extracted from Parkia biglobosa seeds using soxhlet extraction method. The physico-chemical properties of the biodiesel were analysed and then compared to international standards. Subsequently, the oil was then used to produce biodiesel at optimized transesterification reaction conditions. At the end, the free fatty acid (FFA) content of the oil was 1.61% w/w while the saponification value (mgKOH/g) was 191.65. The maximum yield (percentage weight) of the biodiesel produced was 93.4% at the maximum transesterification conditions of methanol to oil molar ratio of 6:1, sulphuric acid catalyst amount of 3 wt %, reaction temperature of 65\(℃\) and reaction time of 1.5 h. When compared with other international standards the biodiesel produced was found to be within the limits of the specification by ASTM D6751 (American standard), EN 14241 (European Standard) and Ghana Standard Authority. It was therefore recommended that biodiesel from Parkia biglobosa seed oil under acidic catalytic condition is a potential new non-edible substitute for petroleum diesel for commercialization purposes.