PRODUCTION, OPTIMIZATION OF BIODIESEL FROM DESERT DATE SEED OIL VIA TRANSESTERIFICATION

Abstract

Due to the adverse effect of exhaust emissions from the combustion of petroleum-based fuels, the global warming phenomenon and greenhouse effect has escalated in recent decades. These problems have necessitated the use of alternative fuels more than ever in today’s ever-changing world. Furthermore, convectional fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum and natural gas are constantly being depleted. Nevertheless, the world’s dependency on these fuels is still growing and this problem has prompted the need for this research, which is aimed at the production of biodiesel from desert date seed oils as an alternative source of fuel since they are readily available and environmentally friendly. The study reports the yield of biodiesel from the transesterification of desert date seed oil using methanol as the alcohol and NaOH as the catalyst for the reaction. Optimization was carried out via response surface methodology (RSM) using the Box-Behnken approach with the software, Design Expert 13. The results of the analysis of the produced biodiesel, which were found to agree very well with the standard values, indicated that the liquid produced from the desert date seed oil by transesterification process was indeed, biodiesel with a yield of 82 %, which is in a close agreement with results reported in the literature.