Fuel Conversional Aspects of Palm Oil and Sunflower Oil

Abstract

There are great differences between palm oil and palm kernel oil in physical and chemical characteristics. Palm oil contains mainly palmitic (16:0) and oleic (18:1) acids, the 2 common fatty acids and about 50% saturated, while palm kernel oil contains mainly lauric acid (12:0) and is more than 89% saturated. Palm is widely grown in Southeast Asia, and 90% of the palm oil produced is used for food, while the remaining 10% is used for nonfood consumption, such as production of oleochemicals. Methyl esters of vegetable oils have several outstanding advantages among other new-renewable and clean engine fuel alternatives. Compared to No. 2 diesel fuel, all of the vegetable oils are much more viscous, while methyl esters of vegetable oils are slightly more viscous. The methyl esters are more volatile than the vegetable oils. The soaps obtained from the vegetable oils can be pyrolyzed into hydrocarbon-rich products. The yield of conversion of the sunflower oil reached the maximum 78.3% at 660 K over ZnCl 2 catalysts.