CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION
1.1

Background of Study

The current motivation towards the production of biodiesel is the

conservation of fossil fuels as well as concerns over environmental
problems and its limited resources for future. Fossil fuel reserves are
few in numbers and they are already reaching their peak production
(J.Ahmad, 2014). It worries the community to find any renewable
energy as a substitute to petroleum that has the same properties.
Environmental concerns are also related to excessive usage of fossil
derived fuels. The fossil fuels and their products are the major
contributors of the greenhouse gases, global warming, air pollution,
incomplete burning of hydrogen, carbon and particulate matter.
The ideal solution of these problems is renewable sources which are
more attractive option. All the renewable energy technologies are ecofriendly and sustainable. Biodiesel has been identified as a good
complement and plausible replacement of fossil diesel because of the
overwhelming characteristic properties similar to fossil diesel in
addition to its good lubricity, biodegradability, non-toxicity and ecofriendliness when used in diesel engines (S.E. Onoji, 2016). Therefore,
when biodiesel is used in diesel engines it burns cleaner fuel than
petroleum diesel and reduces the emission of greenhouse gas. The
term of Biodiesel is from the word bio and diesel that means diesel
fuels is one example of green environment which alleviate production
of carbon dioxide in atmosphere where nowadays it is major worldwide
environmental pollution problem.
The three main sources of oil for biodiesel production originate from: 1)
the use of edible oils, 2) non-edible oils, and 3) microalgae. However,
due to competition for land use space with crops, edible oils are less of
a viable option, and currently microalgae production is too expensive to
be produced on a large scale, leaving non-edible oils as the best source
of oils for biodiesel (Y.Zhu, 2014). This open a new avenue of producing
a biodiesel using a non-food source crop such as the seed of the rubber
tree (Hevea Brasiliensis). The rubber seed contain approximately about
40% kernel with 20-25% moisture. The dried kernel contains 40-50% of
oil which translates to a potential production over 20 million litres of oil
annually (Jolius Gimbun, 2013).
It has been reported that there is currently 9,712,355.52 Ha of rubber
plantations worldwide in 2011. Despite the role of rubber seed oil (RSO)

can play in the production of biodiesel, little attention has been given
to rubber seed yields and even these amounts were based on
estimates which is 150 kg/ha year in Malaysia 2010 (Y.Zhu, 2014).
Moreover, it creates the opportunity for those who work in the rubber
plantation especially the rubber tapper to increase their income when
rubber seed can be sold to industry for produce biodiesel oil. Rubber
seed oil (RSO), derived from the seeds of Hevea Brasiliensis, is an
exciting alternative with great potential for use in biodiesel production.
Furthermore, it can be injected directly into an internal-combustion
engine, or blended with diesel derived from fossil fuels. RSO can also
be transferred into RSOME (rubber seed oil methyl ester) using
different trans-esterification methods, and by different catalysts. In
order to improve the fuel performance, RSO and RSOME can be
inducted by hydrogen or coir-pitch producer gas, or mixed with diethyl
ether. The performance and emission of RSO biodiesel have been
tested and compared with other vegetable based biodiesels, and found
to be a suitable vegetable oil for biodiesel production.
Biodiesel can be derived from raw materials such as feedstock,
alcohol, and catalyst. They can be combined, mixed and heat
up to reach final product is biodiesel oil was produced.
Chemically, biodiesel oil is the mixture of fatty acid methyl
ester (FAME) from reaction of triacylglycerides (TAG) and
alcohol in trasesterification is well known as methanolysis
reaction (Bankovi-lli et al., 2012). This research is about
production of biodiesel from rubber seed oil (RSO) that use egg
shell as catalyst.
1.2

Problem Statement

Rubber seed oil is one of the non-edible oil, but still the use of rubber
seed oil in industry is not so efficient compared to other feedstock.
Rubber seed oil contains a high significant percentage of free fatty
acid.
An experiment should be conducted to see whether rubber seed oil can
be used as an oil to produce biodiesel or not. The viscosity of rubber
seed oil is high. Hence, a comparison should be made to see whether
the biodiesel produced from rubber seed oil still contains high viscosity
or not.
Different origin has different value of oil content in rubber seed. Hence,
we do not know which origin has the optimum oil content. The source
of rubber seed from Malaysia has taken to analysis the oil content.

Direct trans-esterification is not feasible in rubber seed oil because

rubber seed oil contains high percentage of FFA. High percentage of
FFA leads to the formation of soap in the oil. Hence, a best method
should be studied for producing biodiesel from rubber seed oil.
1.3

Objective of Study

The main objective of this research is to produce biodiesel from rubber

seed oil by ..method and to study the properties of biodiesel
produced.

1.4

Significance of Study

Below are the significance of this research in terms of its novelty,

applicability
and commercialization.
a. Novelty of Biodiesel Production from Rubber Seed Oil
First generation feedstock used edible vegetable oil. Using crops for
energy and
food compete with each other in many ways (agricultural land, skilled
labours, water,
fertilizers, etc.). Using second generation feedstock which is nonedible vegetable oil
will be more feasible. Besides that, activated cement clinker will be
used as a catalyst
instead of the expensive noble metals.
b. Applicability of This Study
Use of rubber seeds and cement clinker is a great opportunity to
convert waste to
wealth and recycling of catalyst for cost efficient biodiesel production.
c. Commercialisation
According to statistics done by KDPN HEP, annual consumption of
diesel in
Malaysia in year 2010 was 11.655 billion litres. Annual revenue of RM
340.082 billion can be generated if biodiesel from rubber seed oil is sold
at RM 2.581 per litre (Biofuel
Database in East Asia), the current price in 2011 for fossil diesel

CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
Based on the previous research, there are a lot of production of biodiesel
that was study due to the degradation problems of fossil fuels and
environmental problems. The production of biodiesel can be produce from
edible and non-edible sources.