Investigation on seed oil chemistry of Bauhinia racemosa for the production of liquid biofuel

ABSTRACT

The biodiesel is produced from Bauhinia racemosa. Bauhinia racemosa seeds which yield 25% seed oil. The component fatty acids present in the seed oils is estimated via GC-FID technique. The seed oil has IV of 72.6 g of I₂/ 100 g of oil, SV of 202.0 mg of KOH/g oil, density of 0.898 g/cm³, and viscosity of 31.25 mm²/s. The synthesized biodiesel or liquid fuel is characterized by ¹H NMR, IR, and TGA. It has the CN of 56.9, CFPP of 1.3°C, CP of 5.5°C, density of 0.856 g/cm³, HHV of 40.0 MJ/kg, FP of 144°C, KV of 3.2 mm²/s, and PP of – 1.49°C. The biodiesel properties are evaluated experimentally and computationally, and the results are compared with those of existing biodiesels and other reported biodiesels. Thus, investigated biodiesel is confirmed for its quality by comparison with ASTM, BIS, and EN standards.

KEYWORDS:

• Bauhinia racemosa
• seed oil
• transesterification
• biodiesel
• fuel properties

5. Acknowledgements

The authors are highly thankful to Chemistry Department, Karnatak Science College, Dharwad-580001, Karnataka, India, UGC-SWRO for furnishing financial assistance and Karnatak University’s University Scientific Instrument Center (USIC) for their assistance.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kariyappa S. Katagi

Dr. Kariyappa S Katagi is currently working as Assistant Professor at Karnatak Science College, Dharwad, Karnataka, India. He obtained his M.Sc. degree in organic chemistry from Karnatak University, Dharwad, Karnataka, India in 1995. He was awarded Ph.D. in 2007 from Karnatak University, Dharwad, India, under the able guidance of Prof. K.M. Hosamani. His area of research has been oleochemistry, biodiesel and organic synthesis.  He has published more than 30 research papers in reputed national and international journals. He has presented over 20 papers in national and international conferences and seminars.

Nikhil S. Kadam

Mr. Nikhil S. Kadam is working as a Teaching Assistant and as a research scholar in Chemistry Department in Karnatak Science College, Dharwad, India. He pursued his master's degree from Karnatak University, Dharwad, India. He is working on synthesis and characterization of biodiesel and synthesis of glycerol mediated hetrocyclics. His research findings are published in SCI journals and academic journals.

Sangeeta D. Benni

Miss. Sangeeta Dundappa Benni is a research scholar in Chemistry Department, KLS VDIT, Haliyal. She pursued her master's degree from Karnatak University, Dharwad, India. She has 8 years of teaching experience and her research work deals with biodiesel synthesis using non-edible seed oils. She has attended and presented her research work in National and International Conferences. Her research findings are published in academic journals, conference proceedings in Springer publication and also in the Scopus indexed journals.