Biodiesel Production from Babassu Oil: A Statistical Approach

Abstract

The methyl esters synthesis from babassu oil and methanol using potassium methoxide (KOCH3) as catalyst has been developed and optimized by application of the Factorial Design of Experiments and Response Surface Methodology. The different variables affecting the alkaline methanolysis of babassu oil were studied. Temperature reaction was found to have the most significant influence on conversion. According to this study and from an economical point of view, the best conditions for overall process are catalyst concentration of 0.95% and an operation temperature of 45°C working with 6:1 methanol/oil molar ratio. With these conditions the maximum conversion obtained was 99.85%. The biodiesel produced from babassu oil has a high percentage of saturated fatty acids, 91%, mainly composed of lauric (51.8%) and myristic (22.2%) fatty acids making it particularly stable towards oxidation and resulting in good low temperature properties. The babassu oil methyl esters (BOME) could be converted in a highly promising substitute for conventional fuel possibly due to the good cold flow properties, high oxidative stability displayed and matching the European Biodiesel Standard EN 14214. These properties could make babassu oil methyl esters of a great interest.