Abstract:
Petroleum sourced fuels is now widely known as non-renewable due to fossil fuel depletion and environmental
degradation. Renewable, carbon neutral, transport fuels are necessary for environmental and economic
sustainability. Biodiesel derived from oil crops is a potential renewable and carbon neutral
alternative to petroleum fuels. Chemically, biodiesel is monoalkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived
from renewable feed stock like vegetable oils and animal fats. It is produced by transesterification in
which, oil or fat is reacted with a monohydric alcohol in presence of a catalyst. The process of transesterification
is affected by the mode of reaction condition, molar ratio of alcohol to oil, type of alcohol, type
and amount of catalysts, reaction time and temperature and purity of reactants. In the present paper various
methods of preparation of biodiesel from non-edible filtered Jatropha (Jatropha curcas), Karanja
(Pongamia pinnata) and Polanga (Calophyllum inophyllum) oil have been described. Mono esters (biodiesel)
produced and blended with diesel were evaluated. The technical tools and processes for monitoring
the transesterification reactions like TLC, GC and HPLC have also been used
