A solar reactor for bio-diesel production from Pongamia oil: Studies on transesterfication process parameters and energy efficiency

Over exploitation of non-renewable energy reserves will lead to increase in price of petroleum fuels. Therefore there is a need for suitable and sustainable substitutes (renewable resource) for conventional fuels. In this study, an efficient and environmental friendly method for production of bio-diesel from Pongamia (Karanja) oil has been developed using a solar reactor. During the experimental study, the maximum temperature attained by the pongamia oil during the transesterification process was 64.1 degrees C. The transesterification reaction was studied by varying different parameters such as reactant flow rate (5-20 L.h(-1)), stirring speed (150-450 r.min(-1)), catalyst mass loading (0.5%-2%) and methanol to oil ratio (3:1 to 15:1). The maximum biodiesel yield was 83.11% at a flow rate of 5 L.h(-1), stirring speed of 350 r.min(-1), a methanol to oil ratio of 15:1, catalyst mass loading of 1% and reaction time of 270 min. The physical and chemical properties of biodiesel was analyzed as per American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) standards and it had density of 938 kg.m(-3), viscosity (28.7x10(-6) m(2).s(-1)), acid value (9.45 mg KOH.(g oil)(-1)) and flash point (215 degrees C). The energy efficiency of solar heating process was determined by comparing the net energy ratio of direct heating process and solar heating process. For solar heating the net energy ratio (NER) was found to be 31.85 against 5.73 for direct heating. Similarly, net energy efficiency index was calculated for 10 kg production scale and was found to be increasing when scaled up which means that the solar heating process is more effective even in scaled up production. (C) 2021 The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China, and Chemical Industry Press Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

An efficient and environmentally friendly method for producing biodiesel from Pongamia oil using a solar reactor was developed in this study. The transesterification reaction was studied by varying different parameters to optimize biodiesel yield. The energy efficiency of solar heating process was found to be significantly higher compared to direct heating, making it a more effective method for scaled-up production.