LAUSR

Rubber seed oil containing free fatty acid (FFA) to the extent of 2% is difficult to transesterify and does not undergo transformation at all for the free acid value beyond 3%. This oil requires a separate process to reduce the free fatty acid content, only after that it can be transesterified using catalysts like alkali metal hydroxides. However, rubber seed oil containing 17% free tatty acid (acid value 34) has been transesterified using a novel catalyst without reducing free fatty acid content. Various reaction parameters such as temperature, catalyst amount and molar ratio of oil to methanol on bio-diesel formation have been studied. Development of an eco-friendly method to produce the biodiesel from high FFA oils is significant. The transesterification method developed in the present study reduces the overall production cost of the biodiesel, as it uses low cost unrefined non-edible oils.