Biodiesel production from waste tallow

In the present investigation an attempt has been made to use waste tallow as low cost sustainable potential feed stock for biodiesel production. Effect of various process parameters such as amount of catalyst, temperature and time on biodiesel production was investigated. The optimal conditions for processing 5 g of tallow were: temperature, 50 and 60 degrees C; oil/methanol molar ratio 1:30 and 1:30, amount of H2SO4, 1.25 and 2.5 g for chicken and mutton tallow, respectively. Under optimal conditions, chicken and mutton fat methyl esters formation of 99.01 +/- 0.71% and 93.21 +/- 5.07%, was obtained after 24 h in the presence of acid. The evaluation of transesterification process was followed by gas chromatographic analysis of tallow fatty acid esters. A total of 98.29% and 97.25% fatty acids were identified in chicken and mutton fats, respectively. Both fats were found highly suitable to produce biodiesel with recommended fuel properties. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.