Abstract
The cost associated with raw materials for biodiesel production is the most determinant factor in final biodiesel price and therefore non-edible, easily available, and inexpensive feedstocks are envisaged. Pistacia atlantica mutica (PAM) is oil-rich and abundantly available biomass in Iran’s jungles that can be considered as a promising energy crop for biodiesel production. Its seeds contained 30% of high quality oil. The fatty acid profile of PAM oil is rich in 16–18 carbon chains, close to those of petrol-diesel oil. The effects of ultrasound-assisted process variables on the biodiesel yield from PAM oil were investigated. A rotatable central composite design (RCCD) was used to optimize the operating parameters, i.e. amplitude, molar ratio, and reaction time, affecting the reaction yield. Accordingly, amplitude and pulse had a positive impact on the methyl ester content. Besides, the interaction of molar ratio and time became significant (p = 0.01). The optimum values of 64% for amplitude, 7.1 methanol to oil molar ratio, and 387 s were predicted by the model. The corresponding yield of 92.9% was obtained which is quite close to the experimental value, i.e. 92.3%. The properties of PAM methyl ester met the requirements of the ASTM D6751 biodiesel standard.
Author contributions
Sharokh Mahdi, Masoud Dehghani Soufi had contribution in preparing, formal analysis, editing and revising the manuscript. Ali Asghari, Barat Ghobadian, Behzad Satari, Shiva Gorjian and Manizheh Khanian-Najaf-Abadi had contribution in reviewing and editing the manuscript.
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