PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF BIODIESEL PRODUCED FROM Jatropha curcas OIL AND PALM OIL

Due to the increase in the petroleum fuel and edible oil prices and the continuous debate on fuel vs. the food Issue, effort has been taken to look into the possibility of using a cheaper non-edible feedstock for biodiesel production. Jatropha curcas oil is one of the non-edible feedstock which has been considered in recent years. In the present study, J. curcas oil was transesterified to jatropha oil methyl ester (JOME) and subjected to a full range biodiesel characteristics analysis. It was found that the fatty acid compositions of JOME are very different compared with palm biodiesel (methyl ester of refined, bleached and deodorised palm oil, RBDPOME). JOME consists of 43% methyl oleate and 34% methyl linoleate with total unsaturation of 79%, whereas RBDPOME consists of 39% methyl oleate and 10% methyl linoleate with total unsaturation of approximately 50%. Due to the higher degree of unsaturation especially the methyl linoleate, JOME has lower cold flow properties, namely the cloud point (4.6 degrees C), pour point (3 degrees C) and cold filter plugging point (0 degrees C). JOME is more prone to oxidation and polymerisation, and possesses a lower cetane number when compared to RBDPOME.