Application of Thumba (Citrullus colocyntis) seed oil as a sustainable source of

renewable energy for biodiesel production

Anvita Sharma 1, Himanshu Chokshi 2, Pravin Kodgire 3, Amit Pal 4, Surendra S. Kachhwaha 5*
1,2,3

Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Technology, Pandit Deendayal

Petroleum University, Raisan, Gandhinagar 382 007, Gujarat, India
4
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Delhi Technological University, Delhi 110042
5
Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Technology, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum
University, Raisan, Gandhinagar 382 007, Gujarat, India
Accepted for publication on 2nd March 2014
Biodiesel is a biodegradable and renewable fuel, emerging as a viable alternative to conventional
diesel. The projected diesel demand for India in 2016-17 is 83.6 million Tons (6 times higher as
compared to gasoline). Suitable raw materials as well as efficient process are the key factors to have
a sustainable energy alternative. Presently, mixing/heating is the commonly adopted process for
biodiesel production which consumes energy and time. Considering these limitations, there is a
strong quest to develop an efficient, time-saving, economically viable and environmental friendly
biodiesel production process at industrial scale.
Citrullus colocyntis (Thumba; non-edible oil) a multipurpose plant with many attributes can be used
for production of biodiesel and has considerable potential. This tropical plant grows as creeper in
rain fed parts of western India in sandy (desert) soil, and has a smallest crop cycle of six months.
Thumba seeds (4 to 8 tons/ha/y) are easy to collect at the end of rainy season. A comparative study
of Citrullus colocyntis with Jatropha curcus has been presented in this work which shows that
Thumba plant can play a pivotal role for the production of biodiesel and overall progress of Indian
rural economy.
Various experimental test rigs such as power ultrasound, hydrodynamic cavitation and supercritical
methanol processes have been designed to produce biodiesel using Thumba oil. The rate of the alkyl
ester formation using low-frequency, high-intensity ultrasound under ambient conditions was found
to be higher than mechanical stirring method. Cavitation condition identical to acoustic cavitation
has been generated in hydrodynamic cavitation (HC), which has shown a better effect on mixing of
immiscible liquids resulted to reduction in reaction time and increase in yield. Further, it was
observed that scale up of hydrodynamic cavitation has better opportunities than the ultrasonic reactor
due to its simple process and geometric details of the reactor. Hydrodynamic cavitation was found to
be a cheaper alternative as the consumption of energy was approximately half the conventional
mechanical stirring method.
The cost components involved are seed, seed collection and transportation, oil extraction and
transesterification. Typically, cost of Thumba seed is available at Rs. 15/kg and 100 kg seeds give 25
kg of Thumba oil, cost of biodiesel is approximately Rs. 50 per liter ( 80% of imported high speed
diesel), which is 10 to 15% lower with superior quality as compared to the cost of other non-edible
oil crops. The cost of oil extraction and its processing into biodiesel is recoverable to a great extent
from the income of by products such as oil cake (medicinal value) and glycerol (industrial

applications) etc. Further, efforts are in progress to reduce the overall production cost by introducing
recently developed techniques.
Performance tests of thumba biodiesel produced and its fuel blends with diesel were conducted using
direct injection four cylinder diesel engines of various sizes having applications in transportation and
agricultural pump sets. The comparative studies revealed that biodiesel blending of Thumba oil can
be done successfully for diesel engines.
The target for biodiesel requirement for 10% blending (i.e. saving of 8.36 million ton of fossil diesel
and annual reduction of approximately 26.8 million tCO2 equivalent of GHG emission) can be
archived by proper harvesting of Citrullus colocyntis and other non-edible crops in the available
wasteland area which is at present more than 100 million ha spread all over the country. The
rationale of taking up a major program for the production of biodiesel in India for blending with
diesel lies in the context of reduction in imports, energy security, employment creation, and to
address global concern to contain carbon and green house gas emissions provided in the UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Keywords: Sustainable energy, Biodiesel, Citrullus colocyntis, Ultrasound, Hydrodynamic caviation