Abstract

• Production of biodiesel, a renewable fuel having environmental advantages, is a valuable process. This research is emphasized on the investigation of characteristics of biodiesel prepared from expelled Meze seed oil. Meze seed oil was firstly analyzed for its physicochemical properties and some of fuel properties. Biodiesel was prepared by two stage process; esterification followed by transesterification. Esterification step reduces the free fatty acid (FFA) value of the Meze seed oil to about 2% by using acid catalyst. Variation of different parameters such as volume of methanol, reaction time, reaction temperature, volume of acid catalyst (H2SO4) and amount of alkaline catalyst (KOH), were conducted to achieve the maximum yield of biodiesel. (400) mL (4:1%v/v) of methanol and (1.5) mL (1.5% v/v) of H2SO4 for 90 min reaction time at 60°C were chosen as the most suitable conditions for esterification stage. In the transesterification stage, (50) mL (1:2%v/v) of methanol, (1) g (1% w/v) of KOH, 90 min reaction time and reaction temperature of 60°C were also selected as the most favourable conditions for the preparation of biodiesel from esterified Meze seed oil. Functional groups present in the prepared biodiesel was also investigated by FT-IR analysis. Determination of the fuel properties of prepared biodiesel such as flash point, pour point, kinematic viscosity, specific gravity and cetane number were conducted and compared with ASTM standard. Prepared biodiesel was found to have a moderate kinematic viscosity but relatively high flash point when compared with the standards outlined in ASTM Standards for Biodiesel.