An Investigation into the Biodiesel Properties of Oil Extracted from Three Papaya Cultivars

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Applied Science (IJRIAS) | Volume VI, Issue VI, June 2021|ISSN 2454-6194

An Investigation into the Biodiesel Properties of Oil Extracted from Three Papaya Cultivars

A.F.Ogunnaike, ¹*. O.A. Oyedele, .² and A.A. Ogundari^3
1Department of Agricultural and Bio-Environmental Engineering, The Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.
²Department of Agricultural and Bio-Environmental Engineering, The Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.
³Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria.
*Corresponding author

Abstract
The trends in energy researches in recent time toward conversion of agricultural residues into useful products so as to solve the problem of climate change and encourage green energy. Pawpaw seed being one of the agricultural residues usually discarded after consumption of its fruit was investigated to study the biodiesel properties of its oil. Three cultivars (solo, maradol and js 22) of ripe pawpaw seeds were used for the research. The three cultivars were obtained from a retail outlet in Ado Ekiti. The seeds were collected, sun dried for five days and dried in an oven at 60 °C for six hours. The dried seeds were milled and oil was extracted using 30 g of milled seeds using solvent method with the aid of soxhlet extractor. The oil yield, specific gravity, free fatty acid, iodine value, saponification value, peroxide value and refractive index were the parameters investigated for biodiesel properties. The result shows that the oil yield is higher with 28, 23 and 23% for maradol, solo and js 22 respectively, although the values are low as compared to other sources of vegetable oil. The specific gravity, iodine value, saponification value, peroxide value, refractive index and free fatty acid value of the oil from the three cultivars are within the range of values for biodiesel production when compared to other oils used as feedstock for biodiesel. The oil from the three cultivars is therefore recommended for biodiesel production.

Keywords: cultivar, pawpaw seed, oil, biodiesel.

1.0 Introduction

Fossil fuel is the main energy source which is consumed worldwide and has been in use for decades which has been causing major problems for mankind and his environment (Agunbiade and Adewole, 2014). Some of these problems are fuel scarcity which has led to a fluctuation in price, depletion of the ozone layer by an increased level of green gas emission, destruction of farmlands and water bodies etc. Thus, the need for an energy source which is renewable is required from biological materials. One of such natural biological materials is the use of biodiesel.

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