Extraction of biodiesel from Azadirachta indica Bangaraiah P.1,2,*, Sarathbabu B.1, Kumar P. Ashok1 1Department of Chemical Engineering, Vignan University, Vadlamudi 2Department of Chemical Engineering, S.V. University, Tirupati *Corresponding Author E-mail: p_bangaraiah@yahoo.co.in
Online published on 2 March, 2017. Abstract Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural resources such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. Diesel which is a component in fossil fuel is a non-renewable resource because they take millions of years to form, and reserves are being depleted much faster than new ones are being made. The production and use of diesel raise environmental concerns. A global movement toward the generation of renewable energy is therefore under way to meet increased energy needs. Plant based oils have superior tri biological properties, and have wide spread use as additives to diesel. In order to use plant based oils into diesel, chemical modifications can be applied. In this work chemical modification by using both acid and alkaline catalysts to convert (Azadirachta indica) neem seeds into Biodiesel is done. For this purpose H2SO4 and KOH catalysts are used. Batch process is adopted. The product has been analyzed and the results obtained are found to be coinciding. Other characteristics such as flash point, fire point, pour point, density, viscosity and calorific value of the product are also estimated. Since the demand for edible oils is more in our country the production of biodiesel using non edible oil feed stock i.e. (Azadirachta indica) neem seeds will be definitely more effective. Top Keywords Neem seeds, extraction, catalysts and biodiesel. Top |