Characterization of Jatropha curcas oils and their derived fatty acid ethyl esters obtained from two different plantations in Cuba

The scope of this work is to evaluate some properties of the oils and derived fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) from two different Jatropha Curcas species planted in Cuba. The properties that were determined include the acid value, peroxide value, p-anisidine value and fatty acid ethyl esters composition. In order to study the influence of the genus species and geographic conditions on the fuel properties, the oils from Jatropha Curcas planted in two regions of Cuba and their derived FAEE were analyzed and compared. The two plantations were in San Jose (SJ) and Guantanamo (Gt) representing respectively the western and eastern part of the island. The analyses indicated that the FAEE obtained from Guantanamo has a higher acid value and peroxide value compared with the FAEE from San Jose. The p-anisidine values did not show a clear trend and the results of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry indicated a similar FAEE composition. The results obtained by gas chromatography are in good agreements with previous reports. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.