Process Optimization of Biodiesel Production from Cedar Wood Oil (Cedrus deodara) Using Response Surface Methodology

As petroleum prices are rising continuously biodiesel production has been receiving worldwide awareness. Thus for its production the requirement for non-edible and unidentified feedstocks has risen. This research presents the production and process optimization of biodiesel obtained from non-edible feedstock namely cedar wood(Cedrus deodara) oil, with response surface methodology using statistical software minitab 18.0. Cedar Wood (Cedrus deodara) is a tree accessible in different parts of the world like India and Nepal. In Indian context, these are available in abundance especially in the forests of Himalayan region as a non-edible feedstock. Methyl ester of Cedar Wood Oil is prepared by process known as Transesterification. The FFA content of cedar wood oil was 0.5% which is below the 2% suggested for the application of the one step alkaline transesterification method. Transesterification process parameters like catalyst concentration, Oil to Methanol molar ratio and reaction time (min) were considered the significance factors and the response was taken as the Yield. Based on the results, the optimum operating parameters for transesterification of the cedar wood oil biodiesel are as follows: Time period 70.45 minutes, methanol-to-oil ratio: 9, and catalyst concentration 1 wt.%. These optimum operating parameters give the highest yield for the cedar wood oil biodiesel with a value of 98.59%. Various Physico-chemical properties like density, viscosity, calorific value, were evaluated. The physicochemical properties of the cedar wood oil biodiesel satisfied the requirements given in the ASTM D6751 and EN14214 standards.