Chemical Transformation of Triglycerides of Fatty Acid of Pongamia pinnata Seed to Fatty Acid Methyl Esters by Microwave Irradiation

Abstract

This work was done to study microwave assisted transesterification of Pongamia pinnata seed oil carried out for the production of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME, biodiesel). The experiments were carried out using methyl alcohol and two different alkali catalysts i.e., potassium hydroxide (KOH) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH). The experiments were carried out at 1:6 oil/alcohol molar ratio and 60 ˚C reaction temperature. The effect of catalyst concentration and reaction time on the yield and quality of biodiesel (FAME) was studied. The result of the study suggested that 0.5% sodium hydroxide and 1.0% potassium hydroxide catalyst concentration were optimum for biodiesel production from P. pinnata oil under microwave heating. There was a significant reduction in reaction time for microwave assisted transesterification as compared to conventional heating.