Conversion of palm oil to fuel is one way to add value to waste and also resources of palm oil. Palm oil can be changed to biofuel through several ways, the simplest and most widely used is transesterification. Crude palm oil (CPO) and waste cooking oil (WCO) is chosen to be the feedstock in order to reduce the cost of feedstock used. The yield and composition of biodiesel produced from these sources are compared to identify which one is the better source. Three different sources of WCO and one sample of CPO are used for transesterification. The sources of WCO are Cafe in UiTM, McDonalds (Section 2) and a fried banana hawker stall (Section 2). The results showed that the yield of CPO (97 wt%) is very similar with the yield of all WCO samples, which is in the range of 93-98 wt%. However, the methyl ester composition of biodiesel from CPO has a higher value of C16 and C18 compared to the WCO samples. Further researches on the physical properties of biodiesel produced, cost implication of the feedstock and alternative feedstocks are needed in order for these researches to be viable for industry purposes.
Key words: Crude palm oil, waste cooking oil, biodiesel, biofuel.
SITI KARTINA BINTI ABDUL KARIM
Faculty of Applied Sciences
UiTM Sarawak.
[email protected]
