Process optimization for biodiesel production from indigenous non-edible Prunus armeniaca oil

This work emphasized optimum production of biodiesel using non-edible Prunus armeniaca (Bitter Apricot) oil via transesterification collected from the high altitude areas of Himachal Pradesh, India. In this study the author produced biodiesel through the process of transesterification by using an alkali catalyst with alcohol (methanol and ethanol), under the varying molar ratio (1:6, 1:9, 1:12), variable catalyst percentage (1% and 2%) and temperature ($70^{\circ}C$, $75^{\circ}C$, $80^{\circ}C$, $85^{\circ}C$). Furthermore, a few strong base catalysts were used that includes sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium metal and freshly prepared sodium methoxide. After screening the catalyst, response surface methodology (RSM) in connection with the central composite design (CCD) was used to statistically evaluate and optimize the biodiesel production operation using NaOH as catalyst. It was found that the production of biodiesel achieved an optimum level biodiesel yield with 97.30% FAME conversion under the following reaction conditions: 1) Methanol/oil molar ratio: 1:6, 2) Reaction time: 3h, 3) Catalyst amount: NaOH 2 wt. %, and 4) Reaction temperature: $85^{\circ}C$. The experimental results showed that the optimum production and conversion of biodiesel through the process of transesterification could be achieved under an optimal set of reaction conditions. The biodiesel obtained showed appropriate fuel properties as specified in ASTM, BIS and En- standards.