E-ISSN: 2278-3229

IJGHC, December 2018 –February 2019; Sec. A; Vol.8, No.1, 214-220.

DOI: 10.24214/IJGHC/GC/8/1 /21420.

International Journal of Green and

Herbal Chemistry
An International Peer Review E-3 Journal of Sciences
Available online at www.ijghc.com
Section A: Green Chemistry
Review Article CODEN (USA): IJGHAY

An overview of Michelia Champaca based biodiesel and

compared to other non-edible plant seeds – An optimum fuel
Mayank

Department of chemistry, Uttaranchal University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India

Received: 09 January 2018; Revised: 28 January 2019; Accepted: 15 February 2019

Abstract: Today it is very important to use renewable fuels for power generation and
transportation because of energy security, environmental issues, foreign exchange
savings and socio-economic issues. Biodiesel defined as a fuel composed of mono alkyl
esters of long chain fatty acids from vegetable oils or animal fats which is taken to be a
source of renewable energy. The widely used bio-diesel production process, is
transesterification. Transesterification process is considered to be green technological
process which provide very good and high yield of methyl esters. Different type of non-
edible plant seeds like M. champaca, Karanja (pongamia pinnata), Azadirachta Indica
(Neem), Simarouba Glauca have been compared with each other under this investigation.
This review explain the production of biodiesel from the non-edible plant seeds & its
quality for CI engine.
Keywords: Non-edible, FAME, Transesterification, CI engine, DME.

INTRODUCTION

For the social & economic development of any country energy is considered to be extremely significant.
The demand for energy and its resources, is increasing day by day due to the rapid increase in population,
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and urbanization. The demand of energy is met by the fossil fuels since from their consideration.
Thoroughly the oil is mostly consumed by transportation sector, agriculture implements and decentralized
power plants. There are more than 300 different species of trees which produce seeds which can excrete
oil and only few of them being characterized for use in diesel engine1.
Vegetable oils have some dominance in terms of renewability, eco-friendly, non-toxic and biodegradable,
also it has no sulphur and aromatics and has favorable heating value, higher cetane number, its chemical
structure contains long chain saturated, and unbranched hydrocarbons are the most favorable property for
the use in conventional diesel engine. If the pure vegetable oils are chemically converted into biodiesel,
which is similar in characteristics to that of diesel fuel2. In this direction, many researchers have identified
many methods for the production of biodiesel such as base and acid catalyzed transesterification, two
steps transesterification, supercritical methanolysis, microwave assisted transesterification, ultrasonic
transesterification, and lipase catalyzed transesterification, biodiesel production by using heterogeneous
catalysts3.
Several oxygenated fuels are also known to have the potential or ability for use as the alternative fuel and
diesel fuel. Those oxygenates can be classified as alcohol, ether, ester, carbonate and acetate compounds.
Alcohol compounds include ethanol, methanol, propanol, butanol etc. Of ether compounds, DME (di-
methyl ether) is one of the superior candidate of alternative diesel fuel. The term ‘‘biodiesel’ commonly
refers to an oxygenated diesel fuel made from various feedstock by conversion of the triglyceride fats to
methyl or ethyl esters via transesterification4. The present investigation aims at determining the fatty acid
composition and characterizing biodiesel production from non-edible seed oil obtained from mechanical
extraction of plant seed for use in diesel engines.
Comparison of michelia champaca biodiesel from the non-edible plants seeds
Magnolia champaca, known in English as champak, is a large evergreen tree in the Magnoliaceae family.
It was previously classified as Michelia champaca. It is known for its fragrant flowers, and its timber used
in woodworking. The tree is native to the Indomalaya Eco zone, consisting of South Asia, Southeast
Asia−Indochina, and southern China. It is found in Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
ecoregions, at elevations of 200–1,600 metres (660–5,250 ft). It is native to Maldives, Bangladesh,
China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam. In their study H.R. Hotti and
O.D. Hebbal found certain properties, oil content and fatty acid composition given below in CSO as well
as in CBD.
Oil content: The extraction of oil from the mechanical expeller was weighed after filtering; it was found
that the champaca seeds contain less amount of oil, 14.5 w/w % oil. The oil production by soxhlet
extractor method with petroleum ether found to be 45.0%, hence chemical method is considered for
extraction of oil in order to obtain maximum yield 1.
Fatty acid composition: The main fatty acids present in the CSO are, palmatic , 32.52%, linoleic,
30.72%, palmitoleic, 13.39%, stearic, 8.88%, oleic , 6.03%, palmitelaidic, 5.18%, ecosenic, 0.71%
and myristic, 0.57%. The total unsaturated fatty acid composition is 56.03%. Due to high amount of
unsaturated compounds the CBD may have suitable cold flow properties and may be more liable to
oxidation1.

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Physico-Chemical properties:
Sulphur content: The oils contain differ in amount of sulfur and sulfur compounds. The copper strip
corrosion test is a measure to rate relative degree of corrosiveness and it also shows the presence of
compounds of sulphur. The copper strip corrosion test is conducted for CBD and it was found that it meet
the required standards specified.
Flash Point: It gives an brief idea about, nature of boiling point diagram of the system, the presence
of highly volatile and flammable materials, the ability of oil to form a flammable mixture with air, and
explosion hazards during storage and handling. The flash point of CSO, CBD and diesel were 232, 158,
and 54 °C respectively. The flash point of CSO and CBD found to be much higher than diesel, which
helps in safe storage and transportation.
Cetane value: It is used to measure the ignition quality of diesel fuels, high cetane number signify
short ignition delay and it impact both gaseous and particulate emissions. Cetane index which is very
close to cetane number is calculated on the basis of 10, 50, 90% distillation temperatures and specific
gravity. Cetane number of CSO measured and found to be 44.79 which is lower as compared with the
standard specifications. The cetane index calculated using the distillation characteristics for CBD and
diesel which is found to be 53.50 and 50.98 respectively. Both cetane number and cetane index are
higher than the limits of standard specifications
Iodine value and saponification number: Iodine value is used to measure the number of double
bonds in biodiesel and that indicates the unsaturation level. The iodine value of CSO was calculated
which is 122.71 mgI2/g, as the iodine value is higher, which shows the unsaturation of CSO. The
outcome of heating these higher fatty acids is polymerization of glycerides, which necessitates the
limitation of unsaturated fatty acids otherwise it results in deposits and deterioration of lubricating oil.
The saponification of CSO was calculated which is 209.17 mg KOH/g of oil, which shows that the
CSO is normal triglyceride.
Kinematic viscosity: Viscosity of oil is considered as the important property because, it affects the
flow of oil through pipelines, injector nozzles and orifices, and also affects the proper atomization of
fuel in the cylinder, if range were found to be more it causes pumping pressures, and it decides the
pump clearance and the pump can be seized if it get out of range. The kinematic viscosity of CSO was
measured to be 47.94, mm2/s, which is more than that of diesel, hence the direct use of CSO may
lead to poor combustion, unfavorable wear of fuel pumps and injector. The viscosity of CSO get
reduced by converting it into biodiesel and it was measured to be 5.11, mm2/s, which is within the
limits of standard specification for biodiesel fuel.

1. PONGAMIA PINNATA (L.) PIERRE (KARANJA)

Pongamia is a genus of legume in the Fabaceae family. Recently it has been proposed that the genus
Pongamia be rejected in favor of the genus Millettia, and many species have been reclassified. Due to
recent increase in interest of biofuels, Pongamia is the generic name given for Millettia pinnata, a tree
being analyze for producing biodiesel. It is a tree grown in parts of India and Australia.

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Oil content: Karanja seed contain 27-39% of oil which is used for production of its methyl ester. The
possible availability of the oil is estimated to be 55,000 tons per year. Different methods and technique
used for the production of biodiesel from Karanja are direct use, micro emulsion, pyrolysis and
transesterification. Acid catalyzed transesterification uses Bronsted acid but H2SO4 is mostly used. Base
catalyzed transesterification uses alkaline metal alkoxides which give higher yield in short reaction time
period than the acid catalyst5. The oil can be extracted from seeds by use of different solvents and the
highest yield was obtained by the use of n-hexane is 29%.
Fatty acid composition: The monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids estimated for 63.3 and
22.9%, respectively, of the seed oil. Fatty acid present in karanja oil and in its methyl ester are Palmitoleic
11.65%, Stearic 7.50%, Oleic 51.49%, linoleic 16.64%, arachidic, gondoic, erucic, and nervonic5. Oleic
acid was the major fatty acid present in karanja oil.
Physico-Chemical properties: We know that the freshly extracted oil is yellowish red/ brown and it get
darkened kept in storage period. The oil having unpleasant odor and bitter taste. The solvent extraction
method gives good quality oil as compared to ordinary extraction methods. All properties are given below
in the table and were carried out as per American Standards’ For Testing and Material (ASTM)6.

Table 1: Tested methods of Karanja Biodiesel

Property Unit ASTM Test Karanja Diesel

Method Biodiesel
Density gm/cc D1498 0.860 0.824
Calorific value Kcal/KG D240/ D4868 3700 4285
Cetane Number Number D613 41.7 49
Acid Value mg/KOH D664 0.46 0.36
Iodine Value Number D1510 91 -
Water & % vol, max D2709 0.005 -
sediments

2. AZADIRACHTA INDICA (NEEM)

Azadirachta indica, commonly known as neem, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family
Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus Azadirachta, and is native to the Indian subcontinent, i.e.
India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Maldives. It is typically grown in tropical and semi-
tropical regions.
Oil content: Neem seeds are collected, de-pulped, dried in sunlight and crushed for the extraction of oil
[5]. The seeds have 30-45% of oil from which Neem oil methyl ester (NOME-biodiesel) can be produced
& it measured7 from 18.5% to 52.5% .
Fatty acid composition: The total fatty acid content align from 0.11 to 0.90 g (g of neem oil) and the
major fatty acids- Oleic, stearic, palmitic, linoleic, myristic, arachidic (eicosanoic), and behenic
(docosanoic) acids were detected. Between 90% and 99% of the total fatty acids was integrated by oleic
(48.6-69.0%), palmitic (14.5-25.0%), and stearic acid (13.4-27.5%), ranging, respectively, from 0.060 to
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0.490, from 0.023 to 0.210, and from 0.015 to 0.230 g (g of oil). The other fatty acids (myristic, arachidic,
linoleic, and behenic) were also present in negligible amounts7.
Physico-Chemical properties: Different properties of Neem oil methyl ester using acid catalyst and
alkali catalyst are compared in table.

Table 2: Properties of Neem based methyl ester using Catalyst

Property Unit NOME acid catalyst NOME alkali catalyst

Density at 15 °C g/cc 0.78 0.81

Viscosity at 15 °C cP 5.3 4.9
Heating value MJ/kg 39.1 39.4
Cetane number - 46 46
Carbon mass Wt% 76.7 76.7
Sulphur Wt% 0.004 0.004

Out of all properties cetane number of the NOME was found to be 46 which is relatively same as diesel,
sometimes high cetane number could lead to engine performance problems. As sulphur content was
measured to be less than 0.004 as compared to diesel which is very less and nontoxic. In addition the ester
of this oil can be used as environment friendly alternative fuel for diesel engine which can lead to a
pollution free and eco environment in the future5.

3. SIMAROUBA GLAUCA

Simarouba glauca is a species of flowering tree that is native to Florida, South America, and the Lesser
Antilles. The Common names include paradise-tree, dysentery-bark, and bitterwood. Its seeds produce an
edible oil. The tree is appropriate for warm, humid, tropical regions. Its cultivation depends on rainfall
distribution, water holding capacity of the soil and sub-soil moisture. It is also used for industrial
purposes in the production of biofuel, soaps, detergents, lubricants, varnishes, cosmetics, and
pharmaceuticals.
Oil content: Simarouba seeds contain about 40 % kernel and kernels content 55 -65% oil. The amount of
oil would be 1000 – 2000 kg/ha/year for a plant spacing of 5m x5m. It is used in industries for the
manufacturing of soaps, detergents and lubricants etc. The oil cake of simarouba is rich in nitrogen (7.7 to
8.1%), phosphorus (1.07%) and potash (1.24%) and it could be also used as relevant organic dung [8].
The oil yield obtained through mechanical expeller is 47.5% while by soxhlet method the extraction of oil
is measured to be 69%.
Fatty acid composition: These are some fatty acid8 present in the Simarouba Glauca oil -Stearic Acid
(C18:0) 27.3 %, Oleic Acid (C18:1) 54.6 %, Palmitic Acid (C16:0) 12.3 %, Linoleic Acid (C18:2) 2.3 %,
Arachidic Acid (C20:2) 1.2 %, Erucic Acid (C22:2) 0.4 %, Linolenic Acid (C24:0) 0.2 %, Heptadecanoic
Acid (C17:2) 0.1% .

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Physico-Chemical Properties

Viscosity: The kinematic viscosity of crude Simarouba oil was found to be 34 centistokes and it get
reduced to 4.68 centistokes after transesterification reaction. The kinematic viscosity decreases with
increase in temperature8.
Flash point: It was observed that the flame introduced over the surface of the Simarouba biodiesel
vapour produced flash at 162°C. The fire point is defined as the temperature at which biodiesel vapour
continues to burn after being ignited. The fire point of the simarouba biodiesel is 172°C which is 10°C
higher than the flash point.
Specific gravity: The hydrometer level on the scale is the measure of density of the oil. The hydrometer
level observed for simarouba oil is 0.867 which is taken as the density of the oil.
Cetane number: Higher the cetane number of the fuel, lower is the delay period that means the engine
starts rapidly and runs smoothly. The fuels which have lower cetane number causes diesel knock and
produce higher exhaust emissions. Cetane number of SGOB is 56.8 which is undoubtedly higher as
compared to diesel.

CONCLUSIONS

The value of fixed oil percent, saponification value (SV), Iodine value (IV), Cetane number (CN) and
fatty acid composition of the seeds oil of the plants are measured experimentally through different
equations and methods respectively. On the basis of previous work done on these plant by researcher and
current investigation this study reveals the suitability of the seeds oils for use as a biodiesel. As different
countries have different value for the selection of FAME as a biodiesel. The biodiesel standards of USA
(ASTMD 6751) is 47 while Germany (DIN 51606) and European Organisation (EN 14214) have 49 and
51, respectively. As comparing the values of these plants seed oil and extracted biodiesel the values
slightly differ from one another.

REFERENCE

1. S.R. Hotti, O.D. Hebbal, Journal of Thermal Engineering; 2015, 1(1), 330-336.
2. V.S. Yaliwal, N.R. Banapurmath, P.G. Tewari, S.I. Kundagol, S.R. Daboji, S.C. Galveen,
Journal of Selected Areas in Renewable and Sustainable Energy; 2011, 1-9.
3. A. Demirbas, A. Bafail, W. Ahmad, M. Sheikh, Prog. Energy Combust Science; 2005, 31, 46-
487.
4. Soo-Young No, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews; 2011, 15, 131-149.
5. N.R. Patel, P.S. Nagar, S.N. Shah, Energy and Power; 2013, 3(4), 67-78.
6. S.N. Bobade, V.B. Khyade, Research Journal of Chemical Sciences; 2012, 2(7), 16-20.
7. Jitendra Kumar, B.S. Parmar, Journal of Agriculture Food Chemistry; 1996, 44, 2137-2143.

219 IJGHC, December 2018 –February 2019; Sec. A; Vol.8, No.1, 214-220
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An overview … Mayank.

8. S.K. Mishra, M.K. Mohanty, S.P. Das, A.K. Pattanaik, Research Journal of Chemical Sciences;
2012, 2(5), 66-71.

*Corresponding Author: Mayank

Department of chemistry, Uttaranchal University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India

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220 IJGHC, December 2018 –February 2019; Sec. A; Vol.8, No.1, 214-220
DOI: 10.24214/IJGHC/GC/8/1/21420.