Comparative Study of Biodiesel Production from Pure Palm Oil and Waste Palm Oil

Comparison of the optimum conditions for biodiesel production from pure palm cooking oil (PPCO) and waste palm cooking oil (WPCO) through transesterification process using alkaline catalysts was studied. Some important variables such as volumetric ratio and types of reactants, catalytic activities were selected to obtain a high quality biodiesel fuel that comply with the specification of standard methods (ASTM D 6751 and EN 1.4214). The highest yield of approximately 99% was acquired under optimum conditions of 1:6 volumetric oil-to-methanol molar ratio, 1% KOH catalyst, 40 degrees C reaction temperature, and 320 rpm stirring speed. Results showed that the production of biodiesel from PPCO and WPCO was exhibited no considerable differences. The research demonstrated that biodiesel obtained under optimum conditions from PPCO and WPCO was of good quality and could be used as a diesel fuel. Waste cooking palm oil after frying could be used as recycled material for waste management to produce renewable energy.