Enzymatic biodiesel production from palm oil and palm kernel oil using free lipase

Biodiesel from biological materials is receiving attention as alternative fuel. This investigation compared quality of biodiesel produced from lipase-transesterified palm oil (PO) and palm kernel oil (PKO) based on fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) and fuel properties. Biodiesel yield was optimized using three-level four-factor of Design Expert Software with enzyme load (2.5-7.5%), methanol-oil molar ratio (3-1, 1), and temperature (30-40 °C) as variables. Biodiesel properties FAME, Flash Point (FC), Pour Point (PP) and kinematic viscosity were compared with American (ASTM D6751) and European (EN 14214) Standards. PO (>90%) biodiesel yield was higher than PKO (<90%), both with maximum yields observed at 40 °C, 3:1 and 5-7.5%. FAME in PO-biodiesel (POBD) and PKO-biodiesel (PKOBD) include Hexadecanate and 9-Octadecenoate, while POBD had more unsaturated FAME (Dodecanoate). POBD and PKOBD had PP 6.7 °C and 17.7 °C respectively, while POBD Kinematic viscosity (813 kg/m3) agreed with both standards. This study showed that POBD could be a better fuel alternative with further improvement of fuel properties.