Determination of Some Physical Properties of Biodiesel Extracted from Garlic Oil

Abstract

The depletion of fossil fuels together with its negative environmental effects raised question on it`s over dependent. One of the alternative solutions toward this problem is the use of biodiesel which can be produced through the process of transesterification. The physical properties of biodiesel (pour point, flash point and fire point) extracted from transesterified garlic oil was investigated. The crude garlic oil was purified , transesterified and subjected to Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analysis in order to determine the functional group of the samples. The pour point, flash point and fire point of transesterified garlic oil was found to be 40 C, 1600 C and 1850 C, respectively, which are within the ASTM standard. The FTIR indicate the presence of ester (biodiesel) on transesterified garlic oil. The research shows that the garlic oil can be used as biodiesel feedstock.