Biodiesel Production from Sunflower Oil

E-ISSN： 1662-8985|2015|1097|63-68

ISSN： 1022-6680

Source： Advanced Materials Research, Vol.2015, Iss.1097, 2015-05, pp. : 63-68

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Abstract

Southern Africa is composed of some of the poorest countries in the world. The energy demand in these countries compels them to spend millions of dollars in the purchases of mineral oil and gas to meet their demands while these countries have the ability to produce their own sources of energy from biodiesel. The most common way to produce biodiesel is via trans-esterification process which refers to a catalyzed chemical reaction involving vegetable oil and methanol to yield fatty acid methyl esters (biodiesel). Research has proven that the use of sunflower as a feedstock for biodiesel production yields zero waste. Apart from the fact that there is no waste generated, the sunflower is an attractor of bees and most sunflower farms have been used for honey cultivation, which will result in a two-way income generation, and hence will go a long way to reduce poverty and improve the GDP of Southern Africa countries.