ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Received date: 02/09/2015

Accepted date: 08/08/2016

Fossil fuels are being depleted at an alarming rate. Alternative fuel sources such as biofuels seem to offer a promising solution to meet the energy demands. This research focuses on: (Phase 1) extracting oils from some biomass sources available in Vietnam, namely, Cashew nut, Castor seed, Makapuno coconut kernel, Calophyllum inophyllum seed, and Terminalia captappa seed, (Phase 2) converting oils to biodiesel using a transesterification process, and (Phase 3) evaluating the properties of resultant biodiesels and blends. Analysis of the physiochemical properties showed that the produced biodiesels can be the potential candidates for the feedstock in biodiesel production in Vietnam as they exhibited fuel properties within the limits prescribed by the latest American Standards for Testing Material (ASTM), European standards (EN) and Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS). However, Castor oil biodiesel is unsuitable in pure state for its direct use as fuel in internal combustion engines because its kinematic viscosity at 40°C is extremely high (20.76 mm²/s), exceeding by far the international standard upper limit (5.0 mm²/s). Thus, Castor oil biodiesel was blended with diesel at 5%, 10% and 20% on a volume basis (B5, B10, B20), respectively, and the quality was evaluated in terms of kinematic viscosity as well as the density at 18°C, gross heating value, and copper strip corrosion for 3 hrs at 50°C. The results showed that physicochemical properties of the blends of Castor oil biodiesel and reference diesel were satisfactory according to international standards such as ASTM, EN and JIS.

KEYWORDS

Biodiesel, biodiesel blend, Cashew, Castor, Makapuno coconut

Cited as: Dat, N.V., Thanh, N.Q.C., Hien, O.T.M., Phong, H.Q.,  Thuc, L.V. and Loc, L.C., 2016. Biodiesel production from some biomass sources available in Vietnam. Can Tho University Journal of Science. Vol 3: 102-107.