Application of the Taguchi Method for the Optimization of Effective Parameters on the Safflower Seed Oil Methyl Ester Production

In this study, safflower seed oil for biodiesel production is examined. The oil extraction process from safflower seeds and transesterification process for biodiesel production are investigated. Although, there are many factors related with the production of the biodiesel, the four factors are only determined such as molar ratio of alcohol to oil, catalyst concentration, reaction temperature, and reaction time. Taguchi experimental design is used for the production of safflower seed oil methyl ester by using process parameter optimization. The orthogonal array, signal/noise (S/N) ratio and analysis of variances are employed to find out the optimal process parameters. The optimal conditions of process parameters are determined as 1:6 molar ratio of alcohol to oil, catalyst concentration 0.3 wt %, 60 degrees C reaction temperature, and 45-min reaction time by using NaOH as catalyst in experimental studies. According to Taguchi method, the most efficient process parameter is molar ratio of alcohol to oil in producing safflower seed oil methyl ester. Finally, the conversion rate of safflower seed oil methyl ester is produced to 98% with the optimal conditions of the process parameters, which are obtained by Taguchi method.