False flax (Camelina sativa L.) as an alternative source for biodiesel production

The current study hypothesizes that false flax (Camelina sativa L.), as a high-value biofuel feedstock, could be grown under humid conditions of western Lithuania and that nitrogen fertilisation could influence its seed yield and oil content. The following objectives were pursued: 1) to determine the optimum nitrogen fertiliser rate for winter (N-0, N-50, N-100, N-150) and summer (N-0, N-30, N-60, N-90, N-120) types of false flax, 2) to estimate false flax seed oil content, its composition and feasibility to use it for the production of biodiesel fuel. The experiments were conducted in 2008-2011 at the Vezaiciai Branch of the Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry. It was revealed that the highest (1.28 t ha(-1), in 2010) and (1.29 t ha(-1), in 2011) as well as cost-efficient summer false flax seed yield was produced having fertilised with 90 kg ha(-1) of nitrogen. Significantly highest (1.2 t ha(-1), in 2011 and 1.6 t ha(-1), in 2010) winter false flax seed yield was obtained having fertilised with N-100. In our study, the seed oil content of summer false flax amounted to 40.3% and that of winter false flax was lower - 37.0%. Nitrogen fertilisation (N-150 and N-120) increased protein content in winter false flax seed from 22.98% to 26.97% and in summer false flax seed from 20.53% to 23.23% and did not reduce seed oil content. Methyl esters of false flax oil have a high iodine value and an especially high content of polyunsaturated linolenic acid: it reached 38.2% in winter false flax oil and 34.3% in summer false flax oil. Therefore false flax methyl esters can be used as fuel for diesel engines only in mixtures containing 40-50% of methyl esters of animal origin (used frying oil or pork lard). The most effective antioxidant Ionol BF200 (optimal dosage - 500 ppm) as well as the most effective depressants Wintron XC-30 (optimal dosage - 1500 ppm) and Infineum R-442 (optimal dosage - 1200 ppm) were selected for improvement of oxidation stability and cold flow properties of esters.