Process optimization of Tung oil methyl ester (Vernicia fordii) using the Taguchi approach, and its fuel characterization

ABSTRACT

In this research paper, Tung oil for biodiesel creation has been examined. The oil removal methods from Tung seeds and transesterification technique for production of Tung oil methyl ester (TOME) are investigated. There are several experimental factors correlated to the production of Tung biodiesel; the only four factors resolved as yet are molar ratio of alcohol to oil, catalyst concentration, reaction time, and reaction temperature. The Taguchi method (design of experiment, DOE) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) have been used for the production of TOME with different process parameters. The orthogonal array matrix, signal/noise (S/N) ratio and ANOVA are used to find out the optimal process parameters. The L_9 orthogonal array matrix was used to optimize the maximum yield of Tung biodiesel production. The optimal experimental conditions of process parameters obtained from this work are a 5:1 molar ratio of methanol to oil, catalyst concentration 2 wt%, reaction temperature 55 °C, and reaction time 60 min, using KOH as catalyst, during this investigation. According to the Taguchi technique, the molar ratio of methanol to oil plays the most vital role in the yield of TOME. Finally,the yield of TOME was enhanced to 93.20% with the optimal conditions of the control factors which were achieved by the Taguchi technique.

KEYWORDS:

• Tung oil methyl ester, optimization
• Taguchi technique
• analysis of variance

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.