Study of Fuel Properties of Rubber Seed Oil Based Biodiesel

The scarcity of the fossil fuel, environmental pollution and food crisis are the world's major
issues in current era. Biodiesel is an alternative to diesel fuel, environment friendly and biodegradable
and is produced from either edible or non-edible oils. In this study, a non-edible rubber seed oil (RSO)
with high free fatty acid (FFA) content of 45% were used for the production of biodiesel. The process
comprises of two steps. The first step is the acid esterification to reduce the FFA value and the second
step is the base transesterification. The response surface methodology (RSM) was used for parametric
optimization of the two stage processes i.e. acid esterification and base transesterification. The yield of
biodiesel was analyzed using gas charomatrogphy. The FTIR spectrum was also determined to confirm
the conversion of fatty acid to methyl esters. The fuel properties were tested using the standard
procedure of ASTM D6751 and EN14214.The properties were within the ranges of the biodiesel
standards.