Biodiesel production from Jatropha curcas oil

In view of the fast depletion of fossil fuel, the search for alternative fuels has become inevitable, looking at huge demand of diesel for transportation sector, captive power generation and agricultural sector, the biodiesel is being viewed a substitute of diesel. The vegetable oils, fats, grease are the source of feedstocks for the production of biodiesel. Significant work has been reported on the kinetics of transesterification of edible vegetable oils but little work is reported on non-edible oils. Out of various non-edible oil resources, Jatropha curcas oil (JCO) is considered as future feedstocks for biodiesel production in India and limited work is reported on the kinetics of transesterification of high FFA containing oil. The present study reports a review of kinetics of biodiesel production. The paper also reveals the results of kinetics study of two-step acid–base catalyzed transesterification process carried out at pre-determined optimum temperature of 65 and 50 °C for esterification and transesterification process, respectively, under the optimum condition of methanol to oil ratio of 3:7 (v/v), catalyst concentration 1% (w/w) for H₂SO₄ and NaOH and 400 rpm of stirring. The yield of methyl ester (ME) has been used to study the effect of different parameters. The maximum yield of 21.2% of ME during esterification and 90.1% from transesterification of pretreated JCO has been obtained. This is the first study of its kind dealing with simplified kinetics of two-step acid–base catalyzed transesterification process carried at optimum temperature of both the steps which took about 6 h for complete conversion of TG to ME.     

Recent developments on heterogeneous catalysts for biodiesel production by oil esterification and transesterification reactions: A review

Heterogeneous catalysis is widely applied in industry due to important advantages it offers to chemical processes such as improved selectivity and easy catalyst separation from reaction mixture, reducing process stages and wastes. This is the reason why nowadays heterogeneous catalysts are being developed to produce biodiesel. Several catalytic materials have been showed in bibliography: acid solids capable to carry out free fatty acids esterification reaction, base solids which are able to carry out triglycerides transesterification reaction and bifunctional solids (acid–base character) which show ability to simultaneously catalyze esterification and transesterification reaction. This review discusses the latest advances in research and development related with heterogeneous catalysts used to produce biodiesel.     

Biodiesel production from palm oil via heterogeneous transesterification

This paper presents the study of the transesterification of palm oil via heterogeneous process using montmorillonite KSF as heterogeneous catalyst. This study was carried out using a design of experiment (DOE), specifically response surface methodology (RSM) based on four-variable central composite design (CCD) with α (alpha) = 2. The transesterification process variables were reaction temperature, x₁ (50–190 °C), reaction period, x₂ (60–300 min), methanol/oil ratio, x₃ (4–12 mol mol^?1) and amount of catalyst, x₄ (1–5 wt%). It was found that the yield of palm oil fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) could reach up to 79.6% using the following reaction conditions: reaction temperature of 190 °C, reaction period at 180 min, ratio of methanol/oil at 8:1 mol mol^?1 and amount of catalyst at 3%.     

Comparison of biodiesel production from crude Jatropha oil and Krating oil by supercritical methanol transesterification

This work compared the production of biodiesel from two different non-edible oils with relatively high acid values (Jatropha oil and Krating oil). Using non-catalytic supercritical methanol transesterification, high methyl ester yield (85–90%) can be obtained in a very short time (5–10 min). However, the dependence of fatty acid methyl ester yield on reaction conditions (i.e., temperature and pressure) and the optimum conditions were different by the source of oils and were correlated to the amount of free fatty acids (FFAs) and unsaturated fatty acid content in oils. Krating oil, which has higher FFAs and unsaturated fatty acid content, gave higher fatty acid methyl ester yield of 90.4% at 260 °C, 16 MPa, and 10 min whereas biodiesel from Jatropha oil gave fatty acid methyl ester yield of 84.6% at 320 °C, 15 MPa and 5 min using the same molar ratio of methanol to oil 40:1. The product quality from crude Krating oil met the biodiesel standard. Pre-processing steps such as degumming or oil purification are not necessary.     

Comparison of palm oil, Jatropha curcas and Calophyllum inophyllum for biodiesel: A review

The world today is faced with serious global warming and environmental pollution. Besides, fossil fuel will become rare and faces serious shortage in the near future. This has triggered the awareness to find alternative energy as their sustainable energy sources. Biodiesel as a cleaner renewable fuel has been considered as the best substitution for diesel fuel due to it being used in any compression ignition engine without any modification. The main advantages of using biodiesel are its renewability and better quality of exhaust gas emissions. This paper reviews the production, performance and emission of palm oil, Jatropha curcas and Calophyllum inophyllum biodiesel. Palm oil is one of the most efficient oil bearing crops in terms of oil yield, land utilization, efficiency and productivity. However, competition between edible oil sources as food with fuel makes edible oil not an ideal feedstock for biodiesel production. Therefore, attention is shifted to non-edible oil like Jatropha curcas and Calophyllum inophyllum. Calophyllum inophyllum oil can be transesterified and being considered as a potential biodiesel fuel. Compared to Palm oil and Jatropha biodiesel industry, biodiesel from Calophyllum inophyllum is still in a nascent state. Therefore, long term endurance research and tribological studies need to be carried out before Calophyllum inophyllum oil base biodiesel can become an alternative fuel in future.     

Parametric study and optimization of in situ transesterification of Jatropha curcas L assisted by benzyltrimethylammonium hydroxide as a phase transfer catalyst via response surface methodology

In the present work, non-edible oil source, Jatropha curcas oil was used with base catalyzed methanol and ethanol to produce biodiesel using in situ transesterification assisted by Benzyltrimethylammonium hydroxide (BTMAOH) as a phase transfer catalyst (PTC). Experimental investigation showed that base catalyzed in situ transesterification reaction rate was enhanced with the use of BTMAOH as a PTC. During the experiment fast formation of biodiesel was observed in relatively shorter time for PTC assisted reaction as compared to the reaction in the absence of PTC. The effect of individual reaction parameters was investigated using response surface methodology (RSM). Optimum operating conditions were also found statistically. Weight fractions of 89 ± 0.7% fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) yield and 99.4 ± 0.4% fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) yield were produced at optimum reaction condition. The fuel quality of FAME and FAEE was investigated against the fuel quality specification set by ASTM D6751 and EN-14214 standards.     

Genetic variability and divergence studies in seed traits and oil content of Jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.) accessions

Variability in seed traits and oil content of 24 accessions of Jatropha curcas collected from different agroclimatic zones of Haryana state, India were assessed. There were significant differences (P<0.05) in seed size, 100-seed weight and oil content between accessions. Maximum seed weight was recorded in seeds collected from IC-520602 and the least weight was recorded in IC-520587. Oil variability ranged from 28.00% in IC-520589 to 38.80% in IC-520601. In general phenotypic coefficient of variation was higher than the genotypic coefficient of variation indicating the predominant role of environment. High heritability and genetic gain were recorded for oil content (99.00% and 18.90%) and seed weight (96.00% and 18.00%), respectively, indicating the additive gene action. Seed weight had positive correlation with seed length, breadth, thickness and oil content. On the basis of non-hierarchical Euclidian cluster analysis, six clusters were obtained with highest number of accession falling under cluster III. Maximum and minimum intra cluster distance was observed for cluster VI (2.499) and for cluster III (2.252), respectively. Whereas maximum inter-cluster distance was observed between cluster VI and IV (5.129) and minimum between cluster III and II (2.472). Among the six clusters formed cluster IV showed maximum cluster value for seed size whereas, cluster VI showed maximum value for oil content and seed weight. Thus on the basis of present finding it is suggested that the crossing between accessions of cluster IV and VI will result in wide spectrum of variability in subsequent generations.     

Biodiesel production from degummed Jatropha curcas oil using constant-temperature ultrasonic water bath

This paper studied tri-basic potassium phosphate for transesterification process with degummed crude Jatropha curcas oil using constant-temperature, ultrasonic water bath generating low-intensity pulses with good energy distribution converting the maximum amount of biodiesel. Tri-basic potassium phosphate is suitable for J. curcas oil when the free fatty acid (FFA) content is less than 2%. The optimal reaction levels are catalyst 1.0 wt%, temperature of 50°C, and methanol-to-oil molar ratio of 12:1. The yield is 98% after 45 min, at 20 kHz frequency. The catalytic activity is found similar to potassium hydroxide and the catalyst solubility is only 4.27 ppm.     

Effect of agglomerated NiMo HZSM-5 catalyst for the hydrocracking reaction of Jatropha curcas oil

Catalytic hydrocracking of Jatropha curcas oil over ZSM-5-supported catalyst was carried out to produce biofuels. The agglomerated catalyst was successfully prepared by a simple technique and characterized using several techniques. The hydrocracking reactions were studied in a batch reactor at 400°C under initial H₂ atmosphere for 2 h reaction using 1 wt% catalyst loading. The effect of agglomerated catalysts on the yield of liquid fuels and hydrocarbon number distribution was discussed. The results showed that the hydrocarbon distribution largely changed depending on the type of catalyst. The powder catalysts seem selectively to produce hydrocarbon in the diesel range (C₁₂–C₂₂), whereas gasoline (C₅–C₁₂) and kerosene (C₈–C₁₆) had high formation after agglomerated catalyst was used. For agglomerated NiMo ZSM-5 catalyst, hydrocracking of Jatropha curcas oil produced more hydrocarbons in the gasoline range (about 43.23% in liquid fuels).     

Castor oil transesterification reaction: A kinetic study and optimization of parameters

In this paper, parameters affecting castor oil transesterification reaction were investigated. Applying four basic catalysts including NaOCH₃, NaOH, KOCH₃ and KOH the best one with maximum biodiesel yield was identified. Using Taguchi method consisting four parameters and three levels, the best experimental conditions were determined. Reaction temperature (25, 65 and 80 °C), mixing intensity (250, 400 and 600 rpm), alcohol/oil ratio (4:1, 6:1 and 8:1) and catalyst concentration (0.25, 0.35 and 0.5%) were selected as experimental parameters. It was concluded that reaction temperature and mixing intensity can be optimized. Using the optimum results, we proposed a kinetic model which resulted in establishing an equation for the beginning rate of transesterification reaction. Furthermore, applying ASTM D 976 correlation, minimum cetane number of produced biodiesel was determined as 37.1.     

Management of oil producing Jatropha curcas silvopastoral systems: Risk of herbivory by indigenous goats and competition with planted pastures

There is potential for Jatropha curcas production in South Africa especially in silvopastoral systems where the co-occurrence of oil production and grazing results in the optimal use of increasingly limited land. However, in South Africa there is a moratorium on J. curcas cultivation due to insufficient information on this species. The aim of this study was to assess the potential growth and suitability of J. curcas in silvopastoral systems. For such systems to succeed there needs to be limited competition between J. curcas and the forage component and the former must not be at risk to defoliation by livestock. The effect on the growth of 15-month old J. curcas trees by neighbouring forage species was addressed by removing planted pastures at 0, 60, 120 and 300 cm from the base of J. curcas individuals. Final height, basal diameter and percentage leaf abscission of trees with pasture removed up to 60 and 120 cm away did not differ significantly from treatments with the greatest and least amount of competition. Therefore, removing up to 60 cm will allow for growth similar to that of trees with 300 cm of pastures removal while still providing sufficient pasture for grazing. The palatability of J. curcas was determined through two two–choice and three-choice trials. Since goats spent <3.77% of their time browsing J. curcas it is a suitable candidate for silvopastoral systems provided that surrounding vegetation is removed at a recommended distance of 60 cm from the base of the tree.     

Biodiesel production from jatropha oil (Jatropha curcas) with high free fatty acids: An optimized process

Response surface methodology (RSM) based on central composite rotatable design (CCRD) was used to optimize the three important reaction variables—methanol quantity (M), acid concentration (C) and reaction time (T) for reduction of free fatty acid (FFA) content of the oil to around 1% as compared to methanol quantity (M′) and reaction time (T′) and for carrying out transesterification of the pretreated oil. Using RSM, quadratic polynomial equations were obtained for predicting acid value and transesterification. Verification experiments confirmed the validity of both the predicted models. The optimum combination for reducing the FFA of Jatropha curcas oil from 14% to less than 1% was found to be 1.43% v/v H₂SO₄ acid catalyst, 0.28 v/v methanol-to-oil ratio and 88-min reaction time at a reaction temperature of 60 °C as compared to 0.16 v/v methanol-to-pretreated oil ratio and 24 min of reaction time at a reaction temperature of 60 °C for producing biodiesel. This process gave an average yield of biodiesel more than 99%. The fuel properties of jatropha biodiesel so obtained were found to be comparable to those of diesel and confirming to the American and European standards.     

Characteristics and composition of Jatropha gossypiifoliaand Jatropha curcas L. oils and application for biodiesel production

In this work two genus of the Jatropha family: the Jatropha gossypiifolia (JG) and Jatropha curcas L. (JC) were studied in order to delimitate their potential as raw material for biodiesel production. The oil content in wild seeds and some physical–chemical properties of the oils and the biodiesel obtained from them were evaluated. The studied physical–chemical properties of the JC and JG biodiesel are in acceptable range for use as biodiesel in diesel engines, showing a promising economic exploitation of these raw materials in semi-arid regions. However, further agronomic studies are needed in order to improve the seed production and the crude oil properties.     

Pressurized ultrasonic production of biodiesel from Jatropha oil: optimization and energy analysis

The present study deals with the development of a biodiesel production reactor based on pressurized ultrasonic cavitation technique. Transesterification of Jatropha oil takes place by passing low-frequency ultrasonic irradiation in the reaction mixture flowing at pressurized conditions in the sonochemical reactor. Reaction variables such as reaction time, molar ratio, catalyst concentration, and pressure of the reaction mixture were investigated to find the optimal parameters for biodiesel production. The energy requirement decreases with increase in pressure. Very low value of Specific Energy Consumption (0.018 kWh/kg) and significantly high value of Energy Use Index (598.83) are obtained when the pressure of reaction mixture is 15 bar. Increasing the pressure thereafter, leads to nominal gains. Ultrasonic irradiation at high-pressure condition has an additional advantage of rapid reaction and lower requirement of alcohol to oil molar ratio and catalyst concentration. Fifteen bar pressure is optimal for biodiesel production.     

ISSR-based genetic diversity of Jatropha curcas germplasm in China

Jatropha curcas (Jatropha) is an oil-producing plant with multiple uses, especially the great potential of energy application. Germplasm collection and evaluation are essential for breeding new cultivars with high yield, good quality and wide adaptation. In the present study, we investigated genetic diversity of Chinese Jatropha germplasm by using ISSR markers. A set of 224 accessions including 219 from all the adaptation areas in China and five from Myanmar was adopted. Out of 100 UBC ISSR primers, 15 that had good reproducibility were selected to genotype the population. Among the 169 amplified bands, 127 (75.15%) were polymorphic which meant that Chinese Jatropha had high genetic diversity. Population genetics analysis showed that average Nei’s gene diversity (He) was 0.19, and average Shannon Information Index (I) was 0.292, indicating a relatively high genetic variation in the collections. The dendrogram based on Nei’s genetic distance showed that distinct genetic differentiation occurred in Chinese Jatropha, most of the mainland accessions were clustered into a sub-group (Ia), and accessions from Hainan Island and its neighboring Guangdong province were generally clustered into another sub-group (Ib). A core germplasm collection was established by SCR strategy. This core collection consisted of 46 accessions that accounted 20.54% of the initial collection, and maintained over 90% of observed alleles, polymorphic loci and polymorphism rate. Slight correlation of oil content variation and genetic diversity was observed. Tropical populations are the most important genetic resources and crosses between this tropics and the mainland are recommended for genetic improvement of Jatropha in China.     

A comparative study of kinetics for combustion versus pyrolysis of Mesua ferrea husk,soya husk,and Jatropha curcas husk using thermogravimmetry and different methods

The combustion and pyrolysis kinetics of three selected biomasses generated as co-products of the oil and biodiesel industry – namely soya husk (SH), jatropha husk (JH), and Mesua ferrea husk (MH) – using thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis techniques have been reported. These biomasses were initially characterized for basic fuel property, proximate analysis, ultimate analysis, and fiber analysis. The activation energy calculated using three different kinetic equations, viz. Coats and Redfern, Differential, and Friedman methods for combustion, were found higher than that for pyrolysis for all biomasses at the maximum airflow rate (20ml/min). However, the kinetic parameters are not sufficient alone to explain the suitability of the biomass.     

Influence of fuel properties on the burning characteristics of sour plum (Ximenia americana L.) seed oil compared with Jatropha curcas L. seed oil

The aim of the research was to determine fuel properties and burning characteristics of sour plum (Ximenia americana L.) seed oil compared with Jatropha curcas seed oil when unblended and blended with kerosene. Fossil oil fuel products have witnessed increased demand all over the world with prices reaching new peaks. Sour plum (Ximenia americana L.) seed oil as one potential biofuel was evaluated to determine its fuel properties as substitute for kerosene. The seed oil was blended with kerosene in varying ratios and the parameters: burning rate and flame height determined. The blended oil was also burned in modified kerosene stove. It was found that Density, viscosity, fire point, carbon residue and ash content influenced its burning parameters. Parameter burning characteristics and energy transfered improved with increasing blend of kerosene. In conclusion, Ximenia americana L. seed oil when blended with kerosene in ratio above 10% can supplement kerosene as biofuel.     

Use of Jatropha curcas hull biomass for bioactive compost production

The paper deals with utilization of biomass of Jatropha hulls for production of bioactive compost. In the process of Jatropha oil extraction, a large amount of hull waste is generated. It has been found that the direct incorporation of hull into soil is considerably inefficient in providing value addition to soil due to its unfavorable physicochemical characteristics (high pH, EC and phenolic content). An alternative to this problem is the bioconversion of Jatropha hulls using effective lignocellulolytic fungal consortium, which can reduce the phytotoxicity of the degraded material. Inoculation with the fungal consortium resulted in better compost of jatropha hulls within 1 month, but it takes nearly 4 months for complete compost maturation as evident from the results of phytotoxicity test. Such compost can be applied to the acidic soil as a remedial organic manure to help maintaining sustainability of the agro-ecosystem. Likewise, high levels of cellulolytic enzymes observed during bioconversion indicate possible use of fungi for ethanol production from fermentation of hulls.