Parametric Optimization for Yield of Biodiesel from Waste Cooking Oil Feedstock

In this paper, a study was made for optimizing the parameters of transesterification process of production of biodiesel from waste cooking oil (WCO) using Taguchi's orthogonal array (OA). The maximum yield of biodiesel (i.e., 96.8%) was obtained at 6:1 methanol to oil molar ratio, 1% (w/w) KOH concentration, 90 min reaction time and 55 degrees C reaction temperature. Statistical technique ANOVA(analysis of variance) was used to study the influence of different parameters in the yield of biodiesel production. Among all the parameters, catalyst concentration was found to be the most dominating parameter with 54.34% contribution followed by reaction temperature with contribution of 34.88%. Molar ratio and reaction time were found to be less significant with 9.02% and 1.78% contribution, respectively. The physicochemical properties of the biodiesel sample obtained under optimal condition were determined and found to be in the range of ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standard.