Optimum Production of Biodiesel from an Underutilized and Potential Feed Stock, Kusum Seed Oil

Day by day the energy consumption is very rapidly increasing. The world’s fossil fuel supply will be depleted in future. The rate of energy consumption is increasing the supply is depleted resulting in inflation and energy shortage. This is called the energy crisis. Alternate or renewable energy resources are very essential to develop for future energy requirement. Biodiesel is the best alternative to petro-diesel. The present research work deals with the production of biodiesel from Kusum oil. Kusum oil methyl ester (KOME) was produced using a two-stage esterification cum transesterification process on account of the high free fatty acid (FFA) contents of the oil. From the above study it may be concluded that Kusum oil is a promising feedstock for biodiesel production and may be the best alternative of petro-diesel The biodiesel property of Kusum oil methyl ester (KOME) has been characterized and it shows that KOME meets the properties of biodiesel as stated in ASTM/EN standards.