REVIEW STUDIES ON BIO-DIESEL PRODUCTION FROM PHYSIC NUT (JATROPHA CURCUS) OIL

Objective: Jatropha curcus belonging to the Family, Euphorbiaceous commonly known as physic nuts.  It is well known herb all over the world. J.curcas oil is not edible and is traditionally used for manufacturing soap and other medicinal applications.  It is an alternative fuel for diesel engines. This review is based on focusing on the biodiesel production from the plant Jatropha curcas. Methods: Production of Biodiesel from Jatropha curcas seed oil involved  three  steps include  extraction of oil from the seed, acid-catalyzed transesterification, and base-catalyzed transesterification, each of which is well-known and widely-utilized in today’s biodiesel industry The produced bio diesel was characterized to obtain its physicochemical parameters such as flash point, pour point, cloud point, viscosity and density. Results: The results obtained from the calculation of the yield of oil extracted revealed 54% of oil could be obtained from the Jatropha seeds used. According to the results, the values obtained from the analysis of the oil especially free fatty acid, density and kinematic viscosity of the oil were found to compare well with the standard (ASTM), which was an indication that the extracted oil was good and suitable for biodiesel production The considered parameters oil content, iodine value, peroxide value, saponification value and acid value. These parameters were done in order to study the oil property of J curcas L which makes the oil most suitable for biodiesel production. Conclusions: In these reveals that biodiesel has become more attractive as an alternative to fossil diesel because of its environmental benefits and the fact that it is made from renewable resource. J. curcas L. is a promising source of biodiesel since its seeds contain high amount of oil and the species has good agronomic traits.