An Experimental Investigation of Biodiesel from Jatropha Oil as a Green Fuel for Diesel Engine

Recently, Crude Jatropha Oil (CJO) has significant potential as the raw material or starting substance for biodiesel production. Jatropha oil has very high potential to become the main source of producing biodiesel due to its oil chemical characteristics and availability. In this study, the efficiency of biodiesel conversion from CJO to Jatropha Biodiesel (JB) through transesterification method was investigated. By using two-step acid-base catalyzed transesterification process to produce the biodiesel proves to be more affective. This is because the free fatty acid value (FFA) in jatropha oil is high therefore acid catalyzed esterification process is used to reduce the FFA value to below 4%. The main factor affecting the amount of biodiesel yield such as the molar ratio of alcohol, mass ratio of catalyst to oil, reaction time and type of equipment were discussed. Then, the diesel engine performance test using different .IB blends was also conducted. In the engine performance test, a blend of 10% to 20% of JB blends is more applicable. The specific fuel consumption was showed increased with increasing JB blends percentage. By using JB blends in diesel engine can also reduce gas emissions. Hence, JB carries a significant importance in most diesel engines with no modification and it can reduce greenhouse gas emissions