In Situ Transesterification of Jatropha Seed Using Hydrodynamic Cavitation

In this study, the in situ transesterification of jatropha seed using hydrodynamic cavitation for the production of biodiesel was studied. Experiments were carried out under the following conditions: 800 mL of methanol volume, 50 degrees C of reaction temperature, 2 g of potassium hidroxide catalyst, less than 3% of moisture content in jatropha seed and 0,3551,18 mm of particle size. From experiment without co-solvent addition, the highest biodiesel yield of 35% obtained at condition: time of process of 120 minute and ratio of methanol to jatropha seed of 16 (mL/g). The use of co-solvent of hexane provided a higher yield of biodiesel compared to the system without co-solvents. The highest biodiesel yield of 60% were obtained under the addition of 95 mL of hexane volume. In addition, the use hydrodynamic cavitation provided a higher yield of biodiesel compared to the system using mechanical stirring. The biodiesel produced in the experiment was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), which showed that methyl oleate was the highest compound in biodiesel.