Biodiesel Production from Castor Seeds by Reactive Extraction conventionally and via UltraSound Using Response Surface Methodology

The goal of this study is to reduce the production cost of biodiesel, so we used non edible oil (castor seeds oil) which has a unique structure; suitable for biodiesel production and has lower cost compared to other biodiesel from other vegetable oils. Reactive extraction via ultrasonicassisted process was used offering the potential for shorter reaction times, cheaper reagents and less insignificant physical conditions, leading to less expensive and smaller chemical plants. A factorial design of experiments and a central composite design have been used to evaluate the influence of operating conditions on the process. The response was the yield while the studied variables were the initial catalyst concentration and the methanol to oil molar ratio at room temperature. In case of ordinary reactive extraction, the experimental results are adequately described by a first order model where the methanol to oil molar has the most effective influence on the reaction yield. In case of ultrasonic reactive extraction, the catalyst concentration has the most significant effect on the yield of biodiesel and the experimental results are adequately described by a second order model.