Biodiesel Production from Jatropha Oil as an Alternative Fuel for Diesel Engine

Abstract

In this study, the efficiency of biodiesel conversion from crude Jatropha oil (CJO) to Jatropha biodiesel (JB) through transesterification method was investigated. By using twostep acid-base catalyzed transesterification process to produce the biodiesel proves to be more affective. This is because the free fatty acid value (FFA) in Jatropha oil is high therefore acid catalyzed esterification process is used to reduce the FFA value to below 4%. The main factor affecting the amount of biodiesel yield such as the molar ratio of alcohol, mass ratio of catalyst to oil, reaction time, type of equipments were discussed. Then, the JB that was produced through the transesterification process tested using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FT-IR) for component analysis. The diesel engine performance test using different JB blends was also conducted. In the engine performance test, a blend of 20% of JB blends showed higher mechanical efficiency which is 31.1% and shows that the specific fuel consumption (SFC) value increased with increasing JB blends percentage. By using JB blends in diesel engine can also reduce gas emissions. Hence, JB carries a significant importance in most diesel engines with no modification and it can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.