An Efficient Utilization of Waste Date Pit Oil for Ethyl Ester Production

Abstract

As a green material, used date pits oil is increasingly utilized as inexpensive feedstock for ethyl ester (biodiesel) production. Waste date pits as a raw material are one of the highly produced agricultural wastes in Iran. This study investigated the effect of several procedure parameters including the ethanol/oil molar ratio, reaction temperature and amount of catalysts on the yield of the produced ethyl ester. The activity of date pits oil can be considered a method of second-generation biofuels production including green diesel fractions. Efficient from waste date pits and synthesis of ethyl ester have made a breakthrough in biodiesel production. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) were employed to determine the composition of production. The optimized ethyl ester yield obtained was 92% when the procedure temperature was 65 ℃, within 6h, with 7:1 ethanol/oil molar ratio with 0.75 wt.% of catalyst (KOH). Waste date pits oil as feedstock can be an efficient platform for ethyl ester production. The purified ethyl ester satisfies the stringent quality standards imposed by ASTM D-6751 (USA standard) and EN-14214 (European standard).