Bio-Oil Extraction from the Shells of Cocos Nucifera – A Source of Generating Renewable Energy and Its Analysis

Abstract

Biomass is an important source of energy and fuel worldwide after coal, oil and natural gas. These fossil fuels do substantially more harm than renewable energy sources like biomass energy. Oil extracted from biomass is considered as an attractive option. In our project, we have specifically selected coconut shells as our feed as they are carbon-neutral, easy to store and abundantly available. Coconut shell also known as Cocos Nucifera shell in biological terms, once a discarded outer hardcover is now a product of great demand. Coconut shell charcoal is used as domestic and industrial fuel. This is obtained by various techniques. Initially, the shells are burned at high temperature and condensed to extract bio-oil using a series of unit operations and processes such as distillation, gas chromatography. These samples are then sent for analysis to compare them with the conventional fuel sources and then antimicrobial activity is examined. The medium-chain fatty acids in coconut oil have antimicrobial properties that can help protect against harmful microorganisms. Lauric acid and capric acid are known to have potent antimicrobial properties. Different bacterial cultures have been introduced later to test the ability of the oil to resist the harmful microorganisms and fungal cultures. Various analysis such as Infrared Spectroscopy, Gas-Mass Spectroscopy and Ultimate analysis are performed on the retrieved samples of oil extracted from the coconut shells. It is to be observed that the carbon content in the Cocos nucifera derived oil is less than the conventional diesel oil which makes it best for environmental uses.