Review Studies On Bio-Diesel Production From Physic Nut (Jatropha Curcus) Oil
Dhanapal Venkatachalam1*,
Samuel Thavamani B1, Alphy Joseph1
1.Department of Pharmacognosy, Sanjo
College of Pharmaceutical Studies, Velappara, Palakkad, Kerala – 678 702
ABSTRACT
Jatropha curcus belonging to the Family,
Euphorbiaceous commonly known as physic nuts. It is well known herb all over the
world. J.curcas oil is not edible and is
traditionally used for manufacturing soap and other medicinal applications. It
is an alternative fuel for diesel engines. This review is based on focusing on the biodiesel
production from the plant Jatropha curcas.
Production of Biodiesel from Jatropha curcas seed oil involved three steps include extraction of oil from the seed,
acid-catalyzed transesterification, and base-catalyzed transesterification,
each of which is well-known and widely-utilized in today’s biodiesel industry The produced bio diesel was characterized to obtain its
physicochemical parameters such as flash point, pour point, cloud point,
viscosity and density. The results obtained from the
calculation of the yield of oil extracted revealed 54% of oil could be obtained
from the Jatropha seeds used.
According to the results, the values obtained from the analysis of the oil
especially free fatty acid, density and kinematic viscosity of the oil were
found to compare well with the standard (ASTM), which was an indication that
the extracted oil was good and suitable for biodiesel production The considered parameters oil
content, iodine value, peroxide value, saponification value and acid value.
These parameters were done in order to study the oil property of J curcas L which makes the oil most
suitable for biodiesel production. In these reveals that biodiesel
has become more attractive as an alternative to fossil diesel because of its
environmental benefits and the fact that it is made from renewable resource. J. curcas L. is a promising source of
biodiesel since its seeds contain high amount of oil and the species has good
agronomic traits.
Keywords: Jatropha curcus, Biodiesel
production, physiochemical parameters.