THE STUDY OF BIODIESEL OBTAINED FROM POMEGRANATE PEEL AND SEED OIL AS AN ALTERNATIVE FUEL

Biodiesel is a type of an alternative fuel used in diesel engines, made from renewable raw materials such as vegetable oils. In the article, examines the process of obtaining biodiesel from pomegranate peel and seed oil. Biodiesel was produced in high yield by the method of transesterification of oils obtained from pomegranate peel and seed with KOH as a catalyst, temperature range of 40-60˚C as the optimal reaction condition and oil to ethanol ratio of 1:3 and 1:10 Mol. Biofuels were prepared by mixing biodiesel obtained from transesterification with different amount (80% diesel and 20% biodiesel; 40% diesel and 60% biodiesel) of the diesel fraction obtained from the low-pressure (0.4-3.0 Mpa) hydrocracking of fuel oil, which is heavy oil residue. The temperature dependence of the density and kinematic viscosity of fuel obtained from the mixture of diesel fuel and biodiesel obtained from pomegranate peel and seed oil in different ratios was studied comparatively. It was determined that the density and kinematic viscosity of mixed biofuels are higher than the density and viscosity of diesel fuel obtained from fuel oil.