NON-EDIBLE PLANT OILS AS NEW

SOURCES FOR BIODIESEL PRODUCTION

 ABSTRACT
• Due to the concern on the availability of recoverable fossil fuel reserves and the
• environmental problems caused by the use those fossil fuels, considerable
attention has been
• given to biodiesel production as an alternative to petrodiesel. However, as the
biodiesel is
• produced from vegetable oils and animal fats, there are concerns that biodiesel
feedstock
• may compete with food supply in the long-term. Hence, the recent focus is to find
oil
• bearing plants that produce non-edible oils as the feedstock for biodiesel
production. In this
• paper, two plant species, soapnut (Sapindus mukorossi) and jatropha (jatropha
curcas, L.)
• are discussed as newer sources of oil for biodiesel production. Experimental
analysis
• showed that both oils have great potential to be used as feedstock for biodiesel
production.
• Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) from cold pressed soapnut seed oil was envisaged
as
• biodiesel source for the first time. Soapnut oil was found to have average of 9.1%
free FA,
• 84.43% triglycerides, 4.88% sterol and 1.59% others. Jatropha oil contains
approximately
• 14% free FA, approximately 5% higher than soapnut oil. Soapnut oil biodiesel
contains
• approximately 85% unsaturated FA while jatropha oil biodiesel was found to have
• approximately 80% unsaturated FA. Oleic acid was found to be the dominant FA in
both
• soapnut and jatropha biodiesel. Over 97% conversion to FAME was achieved for
both
• soapnut and jatropha oil.

KEYWORDS: biodiesel, petrodiesel, non-edible plant oils, soapnut, jatropha curcas L.,
sustainability
 TYPE OF OIL
1. Soapnut tree
2. Soapnut fruit
3. Jatropha planted as living fence
SOAPNUT TREE
SOAPNUT FRUIT
 SOAPNUT TREE AND SOAPNUT FRUIT
• Chhetri et al. [6] carried out a comprehensive study on the uses of various
parts of the soapnut tree.
• Soapnut has several applications from medicinal treatments to soap and
surfactant. Soapnut fruit shells
• have been in use as natural laundry detergents from ancient times for
washing fabrics, bathing and
• traditional medicines. Mandava [7] reported that saponins from Soapnut
shells can be used for
• treatment of soil contaminants. Several other studies also showed that
soapnut has a great potential as a
• natural surfactant for washing the soils contaminant with organic
compounds [8;9]. The recorded
• external use of saponin does not cite any toxic effects on human skin and
eyes [10]. These application
• all make use of the pericarp shell and the seeds are usually waste. Hence,
the use of soapnut seeds as a
• biodiesel source becomes the “waste-to-energy” scheme. Furthermore,
planting soapnut trees in
• community forestry and in barren lands provides sink for carbon
sequestration as well as feedstock for
• biodiesel production.
• Olsen [3] reported that the total value of exports of soapnut as medicinal
use including other four
• species made up to 52% of the total non timber forest products export to
India from Nepal. The totals
• of 32 non-timber forest products are exported with a total value of 8.1
million US dollar for the year
• 1997/1998. Recently it was reported that the glycerol, a by-product of
biodiesel production, can be
• used to produce organic acids such succinic acids by bacterial
fermentation [11]. Hence, the economics
• of biodiesel from soapnut oil can easily be realized on community scale as
it can be integrated in the
• community forestry plan.
JATROPHA (JATROPHA CURCAS L.)
• Soapnut is a fruit of the soapnut tree generally found in tropical and sub-
tropical climate areas in
• various parts of the world including Asia, America and Europe. Two main
varieties (S. mukorossi and
• S. trifoliatus) are widely available in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan
and many other countries.
• Ucciani et al. [5] reported that the oil content in S. trifoliatus which is very
similar to S. mukorossi
• seed kernels, was on average 51.8% of seed weight. The oil from soapnut
has been considered a nonedible
• oil having significant potential for biodiesel production from the material
which otherwise is a
• waste material. Figure 1 and 2 are the soapnut tree showing fruit, seed,
seed shell and the kernel.
BIODIESEL
THANK YOU