Extraction and Use of Balanites aegyptiaca seeds oil in Biodiesel preparation

Abstract

The aim of this work was to explore conversion of oil extracted from the seeds of Balanites aegyptiaca in to biodiesel. The sample of Balanites aegyptiaca fruits was collected from Khartoum state. Normal hexane was used to extract the oil and the oil content of seed was found to be 30% (w/w). Physicochemical studies were conducted on the extracted oil, such as free fatty acid, density, viscosity, color, moisture content, and refractive index. The results were found 1.53%, 0.945 g/cm³, 11cps, 3, 0.0%, 1.47 respectively. The oil was subjected to IR analysis where the active functional groups were determined. The extracted oil was converted into biodiesel using transesterification reaction. The product was subjected to IR and GC-MS analysis. The major components in the biodiesel were found to be: 9-octadecenoic acid amounting to 44.64%, Linolic acid amounting to 43.33%, Hexadecanoic acid amounting to 6.581%, Octadecanoic acid, methyl ester amounting to 5.451%. The results showed that the prepared biodiesel was of good quality.