Abstract:

Currently, biodiesel has become more attractive because of its environmental benefits and the fact that it is made from renewable resources. Most of the biodiesel are from the refined edible type of oil using methanol and alkaline catalyst. However, larger amount of nonedible oil are available. A twostep rapid and efficient lowcost transesterification process was developed to convert the high FFA crude oils to its monoesters. Firstly, acid catalyzed esterification reduced the FFA content of the gross Lindera communis oils to less then 1.5% with 10∶1 molar ratio methanol to oil in the presence of 1% H2SO4 (wt) as acid catalyst. Secondly, alkaline catalyzed transesterification converted the products of the first step to single ester (biodiesel) and glycerol with 15∶1 molar ratio methanol and the product oil of first step. The major factors affected the conversion efficiency of the process were discussed, such as molar ratio, amount of catalyst, temperature, reaction time and acid number. The biodiesel from Lindera communis oil was not redistillation, but its important properties such as viscosity, calorific value, specific gravity, flash point, cloud point and pour point were matched with the standard demand. This study supported the biodiesel product from unrefined L.communis oil as a potential replace to the diesel fuel.

Key words: Lindera communis oil, Biodiesel, Esterification