Production of Biodiesel from Waste Vegetable Oil

Abstract

Biodiesel production is a modern technological area for researchers to study because it ischeap and has no negative impact on the environment. The purpose of the transesterification process is to lower the viscosity of the oil. Pyrolysisproducts of vegetable oils can be used as alternative diesel engine fuel. The methyland ethyl esters of vegetable oils have several outstanding advantages. They are renewable andclean engine fuel alternatives.The aim of this research is to determine the chemical and physical properties of biodiesel and its blended .In this study, waste cooking oil has been collected from different bakeries and restaurantsThe collected oil is cleaned to remove dirt, charred food, and other non-oil material. The clean oil was titrated against standard solution of base to neutralize the free fatty acid. The base (sodium hydroxide), as catalyst for transesterification was added slowly to the alcohol and the mixture was stirred until it dissolved. Sufficient alcohol was added to drive the reaction to completion.The products of the reaction include not only biodiesel, but also by products such as soap, glycerin, excess alcohol, and trace amount of water.All of these by products wereremoved.The produced biodiesel was blended with petro-diesel in ratios of 3:1 and then 1:1 respectively. The physicochemical properties suchas the density, viscosity; flash point; cloud point; water sediment and acid number were preformed according to ASTM standards.The physicochemical properties of the pure biodiesel and its blends with petrodiesel were determined. The density of pure biodiesel@20OC is 883.8kg/m3 ,the flash point is 177OC the viscosity@40oC is 5.25cSt the water content is 0.00 the water sediment is 0.00 the cloud point is 18OC Acid No.0.00.Bio diesel 50% blended the Density@20oC is 875.8kg/m3 the flash point is 87OC the Viscosity@40oC is 5.7 cSt the water content is 0.00the water sediment is 0.00 the cloud point is13oC the Acid No.is 0.00This study is undertaken to enlighten people about the production of biodiesel from vegetable oil. The researcher has made clear his concern about the issue of using of biodiesel and its blends as an alternative to petro diesel which has destructive effects on the environment.Finally, the studyrecommended using 1:1 biodiesel blend instead ofpetrodiesel in car engines in order to reduce the emission of hazardous gases, which contribute to the global warming and ozone depletion.