GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS SPECTROMETRY ANALYSIS OF LANNEA MICROCARPA BIODIESEL

Lannea microcarpa (African grapes) is the specific seed selected for this study. The plant belongs to the family Anacardiacea and is found in the savanna and the drier forest zone of West Africa. The plant seed has 22-28% moisture content and a non-edible oil yield of 38 41%. Mechanical oil pressing was employed to extract the oil from Lannea microcarpa seed, and biodiesel was synthesized from the seed oil in two steps reactions of acid-catalyzed esterification and alkali-catalyzed trans-esterification at a reaction temperature of 600C- 650C. The percentage oil and biodiesel yield was found to be 46.15% and 90.63%wt respectively. Results from Similar research had slightly reported the GC-MS analysis of Lannea microcarpa biodiesel but none among these or any other published research from the literature has reported in detail the oil extraction, biodiesel production and GC-MS results and analysis of Lannea microcarpa biodiesel. In this work, biodiesel was characterized by GC-MS, and the methyl esters and other compounds present were identified and interpreted. Analysis of the GC-MS results showed that methyl oleate (37.04%), methyl palmitate (29.72%), methyl linoleate (11.05%) and methyl stearate (6.67%) as the predominant methyl esters. The result also reveals that three out of the four predominant methyl esters have zero double bonds, it is only methyl linoleate that has double bond; therefore, the biodiesel is considered to be saturated methyl ester. The unique combination of saturated and unsaturated fatty acid methyl esters in this biodiesel will have a positive impact on both the cold flow properties and stability of the fuel to oxidation, peroxidation, and polymerization reactions; this points out the reliability and viability of Lannea microcarpa biodiesel as an alternative fuel for compression ignition engines. The presence of high percentage of methyl oleate indicates the potential use of this biodiesel as a source of oleo chemicals or corrosion inhibitors in steel industries. All the findings were compared favorably with the results of other researchers.