Effects of Fatty Acids Composition on Fuel Properties of Jatropha Curcas Biodiesel

Abstract

In the efforts to reduce effects of climate change, biodiesel fuels from plant oils such as Jatropha curcas have been proposed as alternative fuels which can be used in the transportation sector in diesel engines. The current study investigates the effects of fatty acids composition on fuel properties of biodiesel derived from Jatropha curcas seeds obtained from selected regions of Botswana. The physicochemical fuel properties investigated include kinematic viscosity, flash point, energy content, density, pour point and cloud point from derived Jatropha curcas biodiesel. Results of the study showed that Jatropha curcas biodiesel samples for all regions under review are dominated by unsaturated fatty acids which are desirable for cold flow properties and kinematic viscosity of the biodiesel fuel. The major fatty acids in Jatropha curcas biodiesel fuels from all the regions range from 69.00% to 77.81% of unsaturated fatty acids. The overall results conclude that fatty acids composition has influence on the fuel properties of the biodiesel under investigated.