A. Isigigur et al., METHYL-ESTER FROM SAFFLOWER SEED OIL OF TURKISH ORIGIN AS A BIOFUEL FOR DIESEL-ENGINES, Applied biochemistry and biotechnology, 45-6, 1994, pp. 103-112
The primary problems associated with the use of pure vegetable oils as
fuels in compression ignition (Diesel) engines are caused by high fue
l viscosity. Transesterification of the oil with short-chain alcohols
(such as methanol or ethanol) to corresponding fatty esters is the mos
t promising solution to the high-viscosity problem. In this work, the
transesterification method was applied to crude safflower seed oil of
Turkish origin using methanol. The variables affecting the monoester y
ield, such as: 1. Molar ratio of alcohol to vegetable oil; 2. Reaction
temperature; and 3. Type and amount of alkali catalyst used were inve
stigated. In the presence of 1.0 wt% KOH as the reaction catalyst, 97.
7% ester yield was achieved within 18 min at a reaction temperature of
69 +/- 1 degrees C using 1:7 vegetable oil-alcohol molar ratio. A sig
nificant improvement was observed in viscosity and other physical prop
erties with the ester product compared to the parent vegetable oil. AS
TM fuel properties of the methyl ester product were in accordance with
those obtained for commercial Grade No.2-D diesel fuel.