BIODIESEL PRODUCTION FROM MUTTONTALLOW

Abstract

The high energy demand in the industrial world as well
as in the domestic sector and pollution problems caused
due to the widespread use of fossil fuel make it necessary
to develop the alternate energy from renewable
sources which must be from a fuel which must be
technically feasible, economically competitive,
environmentally acceptable and readily available. One
possible alternative is the use of oils of plant origin, which
is termed as Biodiesel which is biodegradable, non-toxic,
domestic resource thereby relieving reliance on petroleum
fuel imports. It also has more favorable combustion
emission profile, such as low emission of CO, particulate
matter and unburned Hydrocarbon. Transesterification is
a common well established chemical reaction in which
linear monohydroxyl alcohols reacts with vegetable
oils which are triglycerides of fatty acids, in the
presence of a catalyst. Alkali c a t a l y z e d
transesterification i s c o n s i d e r e d t o b e t h e b e s t
amongst a l l methods available for the production of
biodiesel from fresh oil. In the present investigation an
attempt has been made to use mutton f a t a s l o w c o s t
sustainable potential feed stock for biodiesel production.
Effect of various process parameters such as amount of
catalyst, temperature, amount of methanol and reaction
t i m e o n bi o di e s e l production was investigated. The
optimal conditions for p r o c e s s i n g 5 0 g o f
m u t t o n f a t were obtained. Under optimal
conditions, the yield of mutton fat methyl e s t e r s w a s
93.2%. The f u e l properties were estimated. Mutton fat
was found to be highly suitable to produce biodiesel with
recommended fuel properties.