PRODUCTION AND OPTIMIZATION OF ETHYL ESTER PRODUCED FROM Adansonia digitata SEED OIL

Globally, there is a tremendous demand for energy due to increase in industrialization and population growth. The current energy supply is depleting and the use of fossil fuel has adverse effect on the environment. This increase in energy demand and environmental concern have provided stimulus in researches in alternative fuels that are less polluting known as biodiesel. In this work, oil was extracted from the seed of baobab (Adansonia digitata) in an improved soxhlet extraction method. The seed oil gave an appreciable yield of 49%. The oil was transesterified with absolute ethanol in a 250 ml three neck reaction flask using KOH as catalyst. The optimum conditions for the transesterification process were: ethanol to oil ratio of 12:1, 1.0 wt% KOH, reaction temperature of 50ºC and 90 minutes reaction time. The maximum yield at these conditions is 96%. The biodiesel quality parameters examined in this research all met the American and British Standards. From the biodiesel quality parameters examined in this research, Adansonia digitata seed oil proves to be a good feedstock for biodiesel production.