International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVANCED RESEARCH IN 0976 6480(Print),

, ISSN 0976 6499(Online) Volume 4, Issue 3, April (2013), IAEME ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (IJARET) ISSN 0976 - 6480 (Print) ISSN 0976 - 6499 (Online) Volume 4, Issue 3, April 2013, pp. 101-107 IAEME: www.iaeme.com/ijaret.asp Journal Impact Factor (2013): 5.8376 (Calculated by GISI) www.jifactor.com

IJARET
IAEME

DETERMINATION OF PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF CASTOR BIODIESEL: A POTENTIAL ALTERNATE TO CONVENTIONAL DIESEL

R.SRUTHI*1, K. RAVI KUMAR2, G. SHIRISHA3
1

Asst Prof., Department of Petroleum Engineering, AHCET, Chevella, Ranga Reddy 515002(A.P.), India.

Asst Prof., Department of Mechanical Engineering, AHCET, Chevella, Ranga Reddy 515002(A.P.), India. Asst Prof., Department of Mechanical Engineering, AHCET, Chevella, Ranga Reddy 515002(A.P.), India

ABSTRACT: Depletion of worlds crude oil reserves, increasing crude oil prices, negative effects of mineral and synthetic oils on man. Biodiesel is receiving increased attention as an alternative, nontoxic, biodegradable and renewable diesel fuel and contributes a minimum amount of net green house gases, such as CO2, SO2 and NO emissions to the atmosphere. Exploring new energy resources, such as biofuel is of growing importance in recent years. The possibility of obtaining oil from plant resources has created a great importance in several countries. Vegetable oil after tansesterification being used as bio diesel. Considering the cost and demand of the edible oil is bearable, so it may be preferred for the preparation of bio diesel in India. In the present study castor oil was exctracted from seeds through soxhlet extraction, fatty acid methylesters was synthesized with methanol, KOH as a base catalyst. Product was confirmed with 1HNMR spectra, physico-chemical properties were determined for oil and its methylesters to compare the properties. Physico-chemical properties demonstrate that methylesters are exhibiting improved and excellent properties than its oil for bio-diesel purpose. Thermo-oxidative stability and cold flow properties were also found, which is showing satisfactory results. From this study it was concluded that castor oil can be used as a potential alternate to conventional diesel... 1. INTRODUCTION

Gradual depletion of world fossil reserves and emissions of green house gasses are leading to energy insecurity and ecological imbalance in future. Biodiesel derived from renewable resources i.e vegetable oils seems to be a resolution as it is ecofriendly in nature. 101

International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN 0976 6480(Print), ISSN 0976 6499(Online) Volume 4, Issue 3, April (2013), IAEME Biodiesel can be defined as basically monoalkyl esters of fatty acids produced from animal fats or vegetable oils by transesterication or other methods with small chain alcohols, using different kinds of catalysts [1]. Currently, more than 95% biodiesel are produced from edible oil feedstock, due to this there is a huge imbalance in the human nutrition chain versus fuel [2]. This will make biodiesel economically unfeasible as compared to petroleum-derived fuels [3,4]. To avoid these situations, nonedible oil seeds need to be used for commercial production of biodiesel. Many researchers have initiated work on the use of low cost non-edible oils as alternative feedstock for biodiesel production [5,6,7]. Among non-edible oil feedstock, seeds of castor proved to be a one of the highly promising reliable source having high seed oil content. Castor oil is non-edible due to presence of toxic phorbol esters and curcin [9]. Therefore, in the present paper efforts has been made to extract the oil from castor seeds, synthesis of its fatty acid methylesters, determination of physico-chemical properties (fuel properties) and thermo-oxidative stability analysis of castor for exploration of potential biodiesel sources. 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS 2.1. Materials Castor seeds were separated from the fruit mechanically and cleaned manually to remove all foreign material. The cleaned seeds were dried at 60O C temperature. Pure standards of FAME was purchased from M/s Sigma Aldrich. All other chemicals and reagents (methanol, ethanol, n- hexane, potassium hydroxide, and phenolphthalein indicator were analytical reagent grade and purchased from M/s Merck. 2.2. Extraction procedure of Castor oil Castor oil was extracted in soxhlet apparatus using n-hexane as per the standard AOCS (American Oil Chemical Society) procedure for 8 h. The extract was concentrated in rota vapor, the residual oil was cooled and weighed. The physico-chemical properties of the oil were determined. 2.3. Transesterication of Castor oil Due to low acid value of the oil direct transesterication procedure was followed. Transesterication reaction was carried out in 250 ml three necked glass vessels (3 mm thick) sealed tightly and tted with condenser at the top. The reaction glass vessel was placed on the hot plate magnetic stirrer. Methyl esters of Castor seed oil were prepared by reuxing the oil at 60OC employing a 1:6 molar ratio of oil to methanol for one and half hour with 1 wt% KOH as catalyst and the mixture was stirred using a magnetic stirrer at 400 rpm [10]. After completion of the reaction, the mixture was cooled to room temperature and poured in a separating funnel, leading to separation of two phases. The bottom glycerol layer was discarded and the top ester layer was washed gently several times with warmed water to remove the catalyst, glycerol, and soap. A pH meter was used to check the complete removal of the catalyst. The washed methyl ester was further puried under vacuum on a rotary evaporator. 2.4. 1H NMR spectroscopy 1H NMR spectrum of Castor oil and the fatty acid methyl esters was obtained on 500 MHz NMR spectrometer. Samples were dissolved in 400 ml deuterated chloroform (CdCl3) and transferred to the 5-mm NMR tube. The deuterated chloroform chemical shift peak at 7.26 ppm was taken as internal reference. Typical parameters used were: spectral width: 4800 Hz; time domain data points: 32 K; ip angle: 90O; relaxation delay: 5 s; spectrum size: 32 K points; and line broadening for exponential window function: 0.3 Hz.

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International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN 0976 6480(Print), ISSN 0976 6499(Online) Volume 4, Issue 3, April (2013), IAEME 2.5. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) The thermogravimetric prole of castor oil and its methyl esters was obtained using Thermogravimetric Analyzer at the heating rate of 10 OC/min in both nitrogen and air atmosphere. The sample size was kept almost same 5 to 6 mg throughout the study. 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 3.1. Physiochemical characterization of castor oil The physico-chemical characteristics of oil was estimated as per the ASTM standard methods. Initially, the specific gravity of the oil sample was determined using the standard method mentioned above. Specific gravity of castor oil was found to be 0.875, which is within acceptable range of standard ASTM specifications. Similarly, viscosity of oil sample was measured using a standard protocol. Viscosity of the oil increases with increase in molecular weight and decreases with increase in unsaturation level and temperature [19]. The kinematic viscosity of the oil at (40 OC) was found to be 75.40 cst respectively, which is much higher as compared to conventional diesel . These high viscosity oils cannot be used directly in engine. High viscosity causes injector fouling and other engine operational problems. Therefore, before application in diesel engine, processing is required to reduce the viscosity of the oil. The flash point of the oil was found to be 314. The result shows that the flash point of oil sample is much higher as compared to conventional diesel. Similarly, the fire point of oil was found at 333 OC which is much higher than diesel. Refractive index is the degree of the deflection of a beam light that occurs when it passes from one medium to the other. The refractive index value increases with the degree of unsaturation. Refractive index was found to be 1.46. Moisture content of oils was determined using Karl fisher titrator. Moisture content is a qualitative parameter of oil, which influences the storage life of fuel. High moisture content may serve as a medium for microbial growth. Microbial growth in the oil may leads to damage of tank and emulsion formation [20]. Besides this, it initiates oxidation of oil which effects longetivity of engines and reduced shelf life of the oil. The moisture content of the oil was found to be 0.33 which are within acceptable range of standard values. The flow characteristic of oil was observed under low temperature. The pour point of 7 OC was observed. The calorific value for the oil was measured in an oxygen bomb colorimeter. The data obtained from experiment for castor oil showed high calorific value in the range of 35.46 MJ/Kg. The acid value of the oil determines the process of transesterfication i.e. either one step or two step process [21]. The acid value of the castor oil was measured to check the free fatty acid content in the oil sample, and it was found to be 3.23 mg/KOH. As per the values reported in the literature FFA content of castor oil varies in the range of 4 to 40 which is far beyond the capacity of conversion to biodiesel via single step alkali catalyzed transesterification. But in the present study FFA content of oil was found to be very less. So, single step alkali catalyzed reaction was performed for conversion of oil in to biodiesel. This single step transesterification yields substantially higher conversion rate and decreased the reagent use and reaction time as compared to two step transesterification process. The high FFA content increases the formation of fatty acids salts (soap) and conversion rate decreased which cause problem in separation of glycerol at washing step. 3.2. Characterization and evaluation of synthesized methyl esters The fuel properties of methyl esters of castor oil was determined using the standard protocol. During the study it was observed that the specific gravity which influences the fuel atomization [21] was reduced after methanolysis. The obtained values for methyl esters castor oil was within the acceptable range of ASTM standards . As described above the viscosity which is the major problem in the oil samples for engine operation was substantially decreased after transesterification. The decreased value of the viscosity was found to be 12 cst. The values are almost within the acceptable range of ASTM standards . Similarly, flash and fire point values were also found to be reduced after transesterification and the obtained Values are in the range of 185 and 190 OC respectively.

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International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN 0976 6480(Print), ISSN 0976 6499(Online) Volume 4, Issue 3, April (2013), IAEME

Fig.1 1H NMR spectrum of castor oil and methyl ester Since, flash point and fire point values are depends on viscosity, therefore, decrease in the viscosity values after transesterification might be one of the cause for reduction. Acid value is another measure of qualitative character of biodiesel. As per the ASTM standard, acid value of transesterified product should not be more than 0.5 mg KOH/g. The acid values of the methyl esters of the castor oil sample in the present study was found to be 0.46 mg KOH/g, which is below the maximum limits of the standards . Similarly, the moisture content of the prepared methyl esters samples was determined using Karl fisher titrator. After transesterification the moisture content of methyl esters was found to be 0.25% , which is well below the maximum acceptable limits. Cold flow properties such pour point of methyl ester was found to be improved after transesterification. Pour point of methyl esters was measured as 2 OC. But these values are still much higher than the conventional diesel. The heating value is one of the essential properties for evaluation of biodiesel, which provides the suitability of fuels as alternative to diesel fuels [25]. Calorific value for methyl esters was obtained as 41.36 MJ/Kg. The result shows that calorific value of methyl esters is higher than the corresponding oils . All these properties combined together have shown that castor oil could act as the potential candidates for biodiesel production. 3.3. 1H NMR spectroscopy Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was employed to monitor the transesterification reaction. In case of 1H NMR spectra of methyl esters, signal appears in the region at 3.7 ppm which indicates the presence methylic esters group [27]. The characteristic peak of methoxy protons was observed as a singlet at 3.65 ppm and this signal was attributed to methyl esters, which was absent in the oil. In case of 1H NMR spectra of oil, multiple peaks were observed in the region 4.11-4.115, 4.266-4.306 ppm and 5.30-5.34 ppm, due to oxymethylic hydrogen that are characteristic of triglycerides. 1H NMR spectrum of castor methyl esters, the strong singlet peak at 3.659 ppm is indicative of conversion of parent oil to methyl esters. So, from the NMR spectrum of oil and methyl esters, it could be verified that castor oil conversion into biodiesel was successfully completed. 3.4. Thermal stability of castor oil and methyl esters Thermal stability of castor oil and its methyl esters was determined from onset temperature of thermal decomposition under nitrogen atmosphere. The curve shows three consecutive stages of thermal decomposition of the oil samples. The first phase of decomposition start at 310-315 OC and second phase extended up to 470 OC which leads to rapid weight loss. The final stage of decomposition, where pyrolyzed product of second phase fully decomposed extended from 470 to 700 O C. In the first stage evaporation starts at 240-280 OC, extended up to 540 OC where rapid weight loss

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International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN 0976 6480(Print), ISSN 0976 6499(Online) Volume 4, Issue 3, April (2013), IAEME was occurred. Final decomposition occurred between 540 and 700 OC. TGA analysis of methyl esters samples was carried out under similar condition.

Fig.2- TGA profile of castor oil and methyl esters under nitrogen environment From the TGA curves of the oil samples and methyl esters it was observed that, the process of degradation of castor methyl esters initiates and completed within a temperature range inferior to the respective oil sample. Molecular tension produced by bulky triglycerides molecule in the oil sample which could be the reason for thermal stability of oil [28]. Besides this, high viscosity might be the reason for slow degradation process [15]. The poor volatility and high viscosity of the oils are the major challenges to run modern diesel engines with plant oils. The onset temperature for volatilization and distillation was calculated from respective TGA curves of castor oil and methyl esters. The result shows that onset temperature of thermal degradation of methyl esters was lower as compared to oil sample. In case of oil sample weight loss was negligible below 300 OC. But after that rapid degradation was observed at 310 OC compared to its methyl esters at 120 OC. During this study it was observed that for oil sample 50% weight loss was occurred at around 420 OC , while in case of methyl esters it was around at 280 OC. All the volatile components of the oil which accounted for almost 90% weight were decomposed at around 440 OC, whereas in case of respective methyl ester 90% weight loss was observed at 295 OC. The remaining 10% was pyrolysis product which is highly viscous liquids, under goes secondary decomposition. The temperature for secondary decomposition extended up to 470-530 OC for oil and 320-380 OC for methyl esters. The residue was completely burnt out after heating up to 700 OC for both oil and methyl esters. The above data confirms that oil is more thermally stable and less volatile as compared to methyl esters. Further it is also confirmed that methyl esters shows close proximity with conventional diesel. 3.5. Oxidative stability of Castor oil and methyl esters Oxidative stability is the quality indicative parameter for methyl esters. It is defined as the resistance of the oil against oxidation.

Fig.3- TGA profile of castor oil and methyl esters under oxygen environment

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International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN 0976 6480(Print), ISSN 0976 6499(Online) Volume 4, Issue 3, April (2013), IAEME The consequence of lipid oxidation results in decreasing the shelf life of the oil. The oxidation of long chain methyl esters initially results in accumulation of hydro peroxides. Then gradually it polymerizes forming insoluble sediments that plugged filters, fouled injectors and interfered with engine operation [15]. To measure the oxidative stability of the oil as well as methyl esters TGA analysis was performed in air atmosphere under same conditions. During the analysis it was observed that the onset temperature of oxidative degradation for oil sample was 230 OC, whereas, in case of methyl esters it was 120 OC. That is mainly because methyl esters are less viscous than oil. This low viscosity increases the contact between oxygen and ester molecules resulting higher oxygen diffusion [29]. The vegetable oil contains naturally occurring antioxidants such as tocopherols, sterols and tocotrienols, but the purification process destroys these natural antioxidants and hence becomes prone to oxidation [30]. The oxidative stability of methyl ester can be improved either by using synthetic antioxidants which are available in market or vegetable oil based antioxidant additives. So, further research and development on castor oil based biodiesel will make it more attractive to replace fossil fuels. 4. CONCLUSIONS Current investigation on the oil content and fuel properties of castor oil provides valuable information on potential resources for biodiesel production. Physicochemical characterization of oil and methyl esters established the suitability of the biodiesel to use in diesel engine. The castor oil used in the present study showed low level of FFA, therefore single step alkali catalyzed transesterification was found to be sufficient for biodiesel production. From the study it can be concluded that castor oil can be used for large scale propagation and cost-effective biodiesel production. However, more extensive and experimental study needs to be carried out to investigate combustion, emission characteristics and its performance on Engine. Therefore, we still need to focus on the process design, and kinetics of castor oil transesterification in a batch reactor and analysis in biodiesel- fueled engine to establish castor biodiesel as successful alternative fuel. REFERENCES [1]Knothe G. Analyzing biodiesel: standards and other methods. J Am Oil Chem Soc 2006;83:823e33. [2] Gui MM, Lee KT, Bhatia S. Feasibility of edible oil vs. nonedible oil vs. waste edible oil as biodiesel feedstock. Energy 2008;33:1646e53. [3] Wang Y, Ou SY, Liu PZ, Tang SZ. Comparison of two different processes to synthesize biodiesel by waste cooking oil. J Mol Catal A Chem 2006;252:107e12. [4] Zhang Y, Dube MA, Mclean DD, Kates M. Biodiesel production from waste cooking oil: 2. Economic assessment and sensitivity analysis. Bioresour Technol 2003;90:229e40. [5] Akbar E, Yaakob Z, Kamarudin SK, Ismail M, Salimon J. Characteristic and composition of Jatropha curcas oil seed from Malaysia and its potential as biodiesel feedstock. Eur J Sci Res 2009;29(3):396e403. [6] Karmee SK, Chadha A. Preparation of biodiesel fromcrude oil of Pongamia pinnata. Bioresour Technol 2005;96(13):1425e9. [7] Bora DK, Nath R. Use of Nahar oil methyl ester (NOME) in CI engines. J Sci Ind Res 2007;6:256e8. [8] Chitra P, Venkatachalam P, Sampathrajan A. Optimisation of experimental conditions for biodiesel production from alkali-catalysed transesterification of Jatropha curcus oil. Energy Sust Dev 2005;9:13e8. [9] Ahmed WA, Salimon J. Phorbol ester as toxic constituents of tropical Jatropha curcas seed oil. Eur J Sci Res 2009;31(3):429e36.

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International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN 0976 6480(Print), ISSN 0976 6499(Online) Volume 4, Issue 3, April (2013), IAEME [10] Darnoko D, Cheryan. Kinetics of palm oil transesterification in a batch reactor. J Am Oil Chem Soc 2000;77(12):1263e7. [11] Knothe G, Steidely KR. Kinematic viscosity of biodiesel fuel and related compound. Influence of compound structure and comparison to petrodiesel fuel component. Fuel 2005;84: 1059e65. [12] Knothe G, Bagby MO, Ryan TW. Precombustion of fatty acids and esters of biodiesel. A possible explanation for differing cetane numbers. JAOCS 1998;75(8):1007e13. [13] RamadhasAS, Jayaraj S,MuraleedharanC.Biodieselproduction from high FFA rubber seed oil. Fuel 2005;84:335e40. [14] Cormick MC, Graboski RL, Alleman TL, Herring AM. Impact of biodiesel source materials and chemical structure onemissions of criteria pollutants from heavy e duty engine. Environ Sci Technol 2011;35:1741e2. [15] Durrett TP, Benning C, Ohlrogge J. Plant triacylglycerols as feedstocks for the production of biofuels. Plant J 2008;54: 593e607. [16] Gunstone FD. Rapeseed and canola oil: production, processing, properties and uses. London: Blackwell Publishing Ltd; 2004. [17] Augustus GD, Jayablan M, Seiler GJ. Evaluation and bioinduction of energy components of Jatropha curcas. Biomass Bioenergy 2002;23:161e4. [18] Rao PV. Experimental investigations on the influence of properties of Jatropha biodiesel on performance,combustion, and emission characteristics of a DI-CI engine. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology; 2011. p. 75. [19] Nourredini H, Teoh BC, Clements LD. Viscosities of vegetable oils and fattyacids. J Am Oil Chem Soc 1992;69:1184e8. [20] Monteiroa MR, Ambrozina ARP, Morais Liaob LM, Ferreira AG. Critical review on analytical methods for biodiesel characterization. Talanta 2008;77:593e605. [21] T. Pushparaj, S. Ramabalan, Influence Of Cnsl Biodiesel With Ethanol Additive On Diesel Engine Performance And Exhaust Emission International Journal Of Mechanical Engineering & Technology (IJMET) Volume 3, Issue 2, 2012, pp. 665 - 674, ISSN PRINT : 0976 6340, ISSN ONLINE : 0976 6359. [22] S.H. Choi, Y.T. Oh and J. Azjargal, Lard Biodiesel Engine Performance and Emissions Characteristics With Egr Method International Journal Of Mechanical Engineering & Technology (IJMET) Volume 3, Issue 2, 2012, pp. 397 - 409, ISSN PRINT: 0976 6340, ISSN ONLINE: 0976 6359.

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