Evaluation of camellia oleifera as a source for biodiesel production

According to the major specifications of biodiesel standards of China, USA and Germany, a criterion has been established for the preliminary evaluation of eight different kinds of camellia oleosa seeds collected from Hubei province as potential biodiesel raw materials. The criterion included: (1) oil content>; 30% in seeds; (2) acid value<; 1mg/gKOH; (3) iodine number<; 120; (4) cetane number>;49; (5) 1.9mm²/s<; viscosity <; 6.1 mm²/s; (6) CFPP (cold filter plugging point) <; 0 °C. Eight kinds of camellia oleosa seeds were collected from the southeast of Hubei province. Among those, three kinds of camellia oleosa seeds were found to be appropriate sources for biodiesel production, including chicken heart camellia, algae skin tongzi camellia, hybrid camellia. However, the other kinds of camellia oleosa were not suitable as raw materials for biodiesel due to the low oil content or high acid value.