The present study investigated the scope of two minor vegetable oils, i.e.
karanja (Pongamia glabra) oil and nahor (Meusa ferrea L., Guttiferae) oil,
as raw material for biodiesel fuel. The distilled fatty acid methyl esters
obtained from karanja oil and nahor oil have the following characteristics:
cetane indices 56.2, 54.6; heat of combustion (kcal/mol) 8.26, 8.39; flash
points (degrees C) 134, 142; cloud points (degrees C) 8.3, 6.1, respective
ly. All these properties of the distilled methyl esters reveal that karanja
oil and nahor oil can be suitably used as cheap raw material for the synth
esis of biodiesel.