TIGER NUT (Cyperus esculentus) OIL BIODIESEL

This investigation was designed to study the possibility of using tiger nut oil biodiesel as alternative fuel for diesel engines. Tiger nut oil was extracted in a soxhlet extractor using normal hexane as solvent. The oil was transesterified using methanol as reagent and sodium hydroxide as catalyst. The oil and biodiesel were characterized according to ASTM and EN protocols for biodiesel. The fatty acid profile of the oil and biodiesel were determined using the HP 6890 Gas Chromatography analyzer that used HP ChemStation Rev A 09.11 [1206] software for data collection and analysis and the results obtained shows that the oil and biodiesel contains 75% and 73% oleic acid by weight respectively. The mineral contents were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometer and the amount of the minerals in the biodiesel are within the ASTM limits for biodiesel. Fourier transformation Infra Red analysis of the oil shows that the fingerprint region 601-1709 cm-1 has irregular multiple peaks while in the functional group portion 1800-3500 cm-1, the C=O bond peaked at 2922 cm-1. Since the properties of the biodiesel are within the ASTM limits for biodiesel and similar to those of diesel fuel, it therefore, concluded that the biodiesel of tiger nut oil can be used as alternative fuel for diesel engines.