LAUSR

Biodiesel from biological materials is receiving attention as alternative fuel. This investigation compared quality of biodiesel produced from lipase-transesterified palm oil (PO) and palm kernel oil (PKO) based on fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) and fuel properties. Biodiesel yield was optimized using three-level four-factor of Design Expert Software with enzyme load (2.5–7.5%), methanol-oil molar ratio (3-1, 1), and temperature (30–40 °C) as variables. Biodiesel properties FAME, Flash Point (FC), Pour Point (PP) and kinematic viscosity were compared with American (ASTM D6751) and European (EN 14214) Standards. PO (>90%) biodiesel yield was higher than PKO (<90%), both with maximum yields observed at 40 °C, 3:1 and 5–7.5%. FAME in PO-biodiesel (POBD) and PKO-biodiesel (PKOBD) include Hexadecanate and 9-Octadecenoate, while POBD had more unsaturated FAME (Dodecanoate). POBD and PKOBD had PP 6.7 °C and 17.7 °C respectively, while POBD Kinematic viscosity (813 kg/m3) agreed with both standards. This study showed that POBD could be a better fuel alternative with further improvement of fuel properties.