Abstract:
Biodiesel was produced from the seed oil of Luffa cylindrica. The oil obtained was transesterified to produce methyl-esters and glycerol. The percentage oil yield of 36.32% was obtained from Luffa cylindrica seed. Biodiesel properties of methyl-esters were determined using American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standards and compared with that of petrodiesel. The methyl-ester yield of 92.06 % was obtained from Luffa cylindrica seed oil. Higher viscosity at 40oC (15.50 mm2/s) was obtained for the seed oil whereas it was reduced to 3.80 mm2/s after transesterification which is comparable with that of biodiesel standards. Lower heating value (29.39 MJ/kg) was obtained for methyl-ester of Luffa cylindrica compared to 42.85 MJ/kg obtained for petro diesel. Higher pour, cloud and flash points of 4 oC, 8 oC and 150 oC respectively were obtained for Luffa cylindrica seed methyl-ester, compared to -12 oC, -16 oC and 74 oC respectively obtained for petrodiesel. Biodiesel produced from Luffa cylindrica seed oil had cetane number (71.93), refractive index (1.465 nm) and relative density (0.88 kg/m2) which is comparable to biodiesel standard. The chemical properties acid value (0.52 mgKOH/g) and iodine value (57.87 mgI2/g) also compared well with most standard biodiesel. The seed oil of Luffa cylindrica could be a good source of biodiesel.
