Formation, characterization and theoretical evaluation of combustion of biodiesel obtained from wax esters of A. Mellifera

Abstract

The search for alternate and sustainable fuel for internal combustion engines which fulfils around 25% of energy needs has lead the researchers towards biodiesel which can be easily extracted from vegetable oils. Biodiesels can also be extracted from waxes, oligenius species of algae and pyrolysis oils. In the above mentioned materials waxes can be used predominantly because, they are entirely composed of esters of higher chain aliphatic alcohols. In the current study biodiesel from beeswax has been studied for its characteristics with the aid of analytical techniques such as GC-MS and FTIR spectrum. And also the properties of fuel and combustion chemistry of biodiesels have been discussed. The spectrum results have clearly shown the presence of five methyl esters of palmitic acid and oleic acid. Further the biodiesel is found to have density of 880 kg/m3 and calorific value of 38.5 MJ/kg with the Cetane number of 48. The analysis of the combustion of the fuel gives compromising results proving biodiesels from wax esters will be an excellent alternative to mineral diesel and will find a valuable position in list of materials that can be used for biodiesel formulation. Keywords: Beeswax biodiesel, Standardization, Spectrometric studies, Combustion chemistry