Biodiesel production from a non-edible source of royna (Aphanamixis polystachya) oil

Abstract

Abstract Background Rapid consumption of fossil fuels as well as rising environmental deterioration caused by extreme CO2 emissions has become crucial in searching for a clean and renewable energy source such as biodiesel. The current work is an attempt to produce biodiesel from a potential non-edible feedstock of Aphanamixis polystachya, locally known as ‘Royna’ seed oil in Bangladesh. Methods Royna oil was extracted from the seed by Soxhlet extraction method. Biodiesel was synthesized by a three-step process: saponification of oil, followed by acidification of the soap, and esterification of the free fatty acid (FFA). Results The result presented showed that royna seed was found to be rich in oil with a maximum yield of 51% (w/w). Several reaction parameters were optimized during biodiesel production in their percentage proportion of oil to a catalyst (1:2), soap to HCl (1:1.5), FFA to an alcohol molar ratio (1:7), and catalyst (1 wt%). As a result, the highest yield of 97% was obtained from 7.5 wt% FFA content oil at 70 °C for 90-min reaction time. ASTM verified standard methods were employed to analyze the physicochemical properties of the as-prepared biodiesel. The structural and surface properties of the royna oil and as-prepared biodiesel were determined by 1H NMR and FTIR spectroscopic methods indicating a complete conversion of oil to biodiesel. Conclusions The study investigated the promising viability of royna oil to biodiesel using a three-step conversion route along with the heterogeneous catalysis system to circumvent the current environmental issues.