Biodiesel is becoming prominent among the alternative sources of energy due to its economic, environmental and social values. This work investigated the possibility of using calcium alginate immobilized lipase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa for the production of biodiesel from Acacia nilotica seed oil. The physico-chemical properties of Acacia nilotica biodiesel were assessed.The methyl esters composition indicated the presence of octadecenoic (69.14%), hexadecanoic (15.47%) and (7.92%) octadecanoic acid as dominant fatty acid methyl esters. Other properties of the biodiesel produced includes specific gravity (0.84), refractive index (1.34±0.04), viscosity (2.73±0.15Pa.S), cetane number (32.81±0.10), calorific value (29.0 mJkg-1), flash point (113oC), cloud point (1.06oC) and pour point (4.0oC) as well as iodine value (187.6 ±0.60 gI2/100 g), acid value (0.61±0.01/g), saponification value (189 ±1.00mgKOH/g) and peroxide value (6.60±0.05 meq/kg), which were largely in conformity with the ASTM and EN biodiesel standards.
Key words: Acacia nilotica, seed oil, transesterification, immobilized lipase
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