EFFECT OF REACTION TIME ON VARIOUS PROPERTIES OF PALM OIL BIODIESEL IN CONTINUOUS BIODIESEL REACTOR

Biodiesel consists of the fatty acid esters of simple alcohols, which pave the way to replace fossil diesel fuel with biodiesel in transportation. Using a continuous flow transesterification process is the viable option to produce biodiesel with reduced time and cost. In this study, different concentrations of catalyst potassium hydroxide at 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0% were experimented to determine the higher recovery of biodiesel from palm oil. By increasing the methanol concentration 2-3 times higher than the stoichiometric requirement with respect to the catalyst concentration, the methyl ester yield increase gradually at a ratio of 0.5%. The maximum methyl ester yield was 96.0% for a 7.5:1.0 molar ratio. The samples taken at 10 min intervals were analysed for kinematic viscosity and specific gravity. In comparison with methyl ester yield, the maximum yield (96.0%) was obtained at 7.5:1.0 molar ratio and 2.0% catalyst concentration, which has minimum kinematic viscosity. For continuous transesterification of palm oil using static mixer, the optimum condition for maximum methyl ester yield (96.0%) was 7.5:1.0 molar ratio and 2.0% catalyst concentration.