Biodiesel from high free fatty acid
The Jatropha curcas oil with free fatty acid (FFA) content of 8.81 per cent was subjected to acid pretreatment prior to transesterification during the experiment. The oil was pretreated using sulphuric acid with 25 per cent methanol for 1 hour at 50°C in 200 rpm. The yield of pretreated oil was 95 percent and the FFA content was reduced to 0.65 percent. The pretreated oil was transesterified using 0.5 percent NaOH and 25 per cent methanol for 2 hour at 60°C in 200 rpm. The yield of monoester was 96 percent and the wash water had 17,600 mg/l of COD and 160 mg/l of BOD.