Continuous-flow transesterification of crude jatropha oil with microwave irradiation

Abstract

Biodiesel is one of the major renewable energy sources, produced from vegetable oils. Jatropha curcas L. is considered as a promising energy crop for biodiesel production in Thailand. This study is about continuous biodiesel production from jatropha oil by transesterification in a flow process with microwave heating. Sodium methoxide was used as a catalyst at concentrations between 0.25%-1.5%, with microwave power of 800 W, irradiation time between 10-40 s, and oil to methanol molar ratio of 1:3-1:9, respectively. Results showed that jatropha oil can be converted to biodiesel (96.5%) within 30 s under oil/methanol molar ratio of 1:6 and 1.0% catalyst. The findings indicated that this method can offer alternative means to produce biodiesel continuously. © 2012 Sharif University of Technology. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.