Comparative Analysis of Biodiesel Production by Transesterification and Interesterification of Rothmannia longiflora Seed oil using a Heterogeneous Catalyst

Biodiesel is a promising alternative fuel with better characteristics over petro-based fuels. It is conventionally produced via transesterification of vegetables oil with methanol. Chemical interesterification is another alternative route for conversion of vegetables oil to biodiesel. It yields a value-added co-product, triacetin as against glycerol formed as by-product by transesterification. In this study transesterification and chemical interesterification of Rothmannia seeds oil was investigated using calcined swan mussel shell (Anodantacygnea) as solid base catalyst prepared by hydrothermal treatment and characterized using FT-IR, XRF and XRD analysis. Reaction parameters were optimized, with optimal methanol/oil ratio of 1:6, catalyst amount of 1.0g, reaction time of 60 minutes and reaction temperature of 55oC, achieving maximum yield of 93.47 % via transeterification while for interesterification, the optimum yield of 87.50 % was achieved at catalyst amount of 1.5g, reaction temperature of 60oC, reaction time of 90 minutes and methyl acetate/oil of 9:1. Transesterification of the seed oil shows better conversion of triglycerides compared to chemical interesterification. Some important fuel properties were determined and compared with ASTMD standard. The study has revealed potentials of Rothmannia longiflora seed oil as feedstock for biodiesel production.