Biodioesel Production from Desert Dates (Balanite Aegyptiaca) Seeds

Abstract Petroleum is presently the most dominant source of global supply of energy; the consumption of it is on the increase due to the advance in technology, innovation and human population growth. In order to overcome this challenge, the production of biodiesel using heterogeneous- or homogenous-based catalyst has been considered in view of ease of catalyst separation from the mixture and low energy consumption. This study aimed to investigate the production of biodiesel using calcium oxide obtained from river snail shells through calcinations method at 800 oC for 4 hours in a muffle furnace and used as catalyst for the production of biodiesel from desert date seed oil. The chemical composition of the calcined river snail shell was determined by XRF (X-ray fluorescence) techniques. Desert date seed oil was transesterified into biodiesel using electromagnetic stirrer device. Methanol was introduced with CaO into the reaction vessel containing the desert date seed oil. The Central Composite Design method was achieved at varied temperature of 50-60 oC and the catalyst concentration between 0.5-2.0 wt% at constant reaction time of 1 hour 30 minutes after which the mixture was allowed to settle and the methyl ester (biodiesel) was separated from the mixture. The characterization of desert date seed oil methyl ester showed that the biodiesel had a flash point 65 oC, pour point of -4 oC, cloud point of 2 oC, acid value of 3.92 mgKOH/g and density of 0.87 g/cm3 and these values are all within the range as specified by ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) and EN (European Norm) standards for biodiesel. The FTIR (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy) analyses also reveal that desert date seed oil contains much oil content that makes it suitable raw materials for biodiesel production. The maximum response yield of biodiesel was 90% at the temperature of 60 oC and catalyst concentration of 0.5 wt%. This work further shows that derived catalyst obtained from river snail shell can be used as catalyst to produce biodiesel through transesterification process.