Synthesis, Characterization, and Production of Biodiesel from Tamarind Seed Oil

Because of the increasing number of power plants, automobiles, and factories, the increase in these automobiles and power plants produces more emissions of CO, HC, and NOx. The world is searching for an alternative fuel that will not harm the environment and will be less costly. Biodiesel is one of the leading solutions to the global energy crisis, nonetheless, production from food-grade oils is not economically feasible due to high prices. Almost 80-85% of biodiesel is feedstocks. Presently, the use of non-edible waste oils is unable to support large-scale biodiesel production. Therefore, the search for other non-edible oil-bearing feedstocks should be continued. The present investigation attempts to use non-edible tamarind seed oil as an inexpensive, sustainable, and potent feedstock for biodiesel synthesis. Tamarind seed oil was converted to biodiesel by acid (HCl), base (KOH), and enzyme-catalysed transesterification. Tamarind seed biodiesel was found to have a low iodine value (27-33) and a high cetane number (66-68). The catalyst was characterised through acid, base, and enzyme catalysis, and the biodiesel was analysed using GC-MS and FTIR. The highest biodiesel yield of 96.57 ± 0.81 % was achieved in 3.35 ± 0.15 h under optimal conditions of a 9:1 molar ratio of methanol to oil (MRMO) and a 15 wt% catalyst concentration at a temperature of 65°C. The reusability of the catalyst was successfully examined up to the third cycle, with 82.76 ± 0.80 % biodiesel. The feasibility of the resultant methyl esters was verified through chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses. The developed catalyst can be considered an active catalyst, benefiting from its cost-effectiveness and environmentally friendly nature.