ABSTRACT

The quest for renewable fuels as an alternative to fossil fuel has tremendously increased globally in recent times because of the pressure to reduce greenhouse gases. In this work, the production of biodiesel from vegetable oil (jatropha oil) using locally sourced catalyst (plantain husk) and potassium hydroxide (KOH) was carried out. The biodiesel was produced using 1% plantain husk based catalyst, 2% plantain husk based catalyst and 1% KOH catalyst. The biodiesel was purified by washing method. The clean biodiesel was characterised by determining some physical parameters such as yield, density, flash point and viscosity. The results obtained showed that, most of the parameters tested fell within the standard ranges as specified by the ASTM. D6751 except for the value of viscosity of the biodiesel obtained from the 1% plantain husk based catalyst. The viscosity values obtained were 9.4 mm²/s, 6.7 mm²/s and 5.11 mm²/s for 1% plantain husk based catalyst, 2% plantain husk based catalyst and KOH catalyst respectively. The viscosity of the 1% plantain husk based catalyst sharply deviated from the standard range of 1.9 – 6.0 mm²/s. The main reason for transesterification reaction is to reduce the viscosity of the feedstock and make it suitable for diesel engines without the engine modifications. Therefore, 2% plantain husk based catalyst as well as the conventional potassium hydroxide catalyst may be accepted for the production of biodiesel from jatropha because of the closeness of the viscosity values to the specified standard.