Biodiesel Production from The Transesterification of Rubber Seed Oil

Over the past decades, researchers have been investigating alternative feedstock to edible oils which contributes up to 80 % production cost limiting the competitiveness of biodiesel with the conventional petroleum diesel. Rubber seeds are wastes processed from rubber production and are usually disposed of indiscriminately in dumpsites and landfills. This study investigated the production of biodiesel from the transesterification of rubber seed oil. The operating parameters were temperature (45 oC), reaction time (75 min), catalyst loading (0.5 g), and methanol-to-oil ratio (4:1, g/g). The yield of the biodiesel obtained was 44.2 wt. %. The physicochemical properties of the biodiesel produced were density (843.2 g/m3), specific gravity (0.8622), viscosity at 40 oC (1.901), kinematic viscosity (1,601 mm2/s), acid value (1.401 mg KOH/g), free fatty acid (0.7007 %), flash point (83.1 oC), pour point (-4.3 oC), cloud point (-5.2 oC), calorific value (38.1042 MJ/kg), and cetane number (48.4). The predominant fatty acid esters in the biodiesel included methyl ester showed that the biodiesel produced contained dodecanoic acid methyl ester, tridecanoic acid methyl ester, Undecanoic acid methyl, and octanoic acid methyl ester. The quality of the biodiesel produced suggests that the fuel has the capacity to provide a high environmental performance, and engine longevity. With this, Nigeria can recover value from the rubber seed, manage waste effectively, and ensure sustainable rubber trees production.