Investigation of parametric optimisation for the extraction of rice bran oil with the aid of ultrasound and its synthesis to biodiesel

Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad, India

Abstract

Improvisation of the biodiesel production using low-cost feedstock and the process optimisation is the perfect measure for the mitigation of high cost associated with the production process. In this current study, we are focussing on the extraction of rice bran oil (RBO) which is mainly considered underutilised waste material for the synthesis of biodiesel. Solvent extraction of RBO was performed with the aid of ultrasound and the study of various process parameters were exhibited using design of experiment by Taguchi model. The highest extraction efficiency was obtained at S/R ratio: 4:1 (ml/g), Agitation speed: 150 (rpm), Agitation time: 60 (min), Size range: 427.5 (micron), Sonication time (min): 15 (min) and Power level: 70 (KW). It was observed that the ultrasound-assisted extraction produced better quality oil than the extraction performed by conventional Soxhlet. Secondly, the esterification was performed using sulphuric acid as the acid catalyst and parametric optimization was performed for the enhancement of biodiesel yield using L9 orthogonal array. The key factors viz. agitation speed of 1000 rpm, methanol to oil ratio (M/O) of 10:1and reaction temperature of 60 °C; were found to be favourable for the attainment of the maximum yield of biodiesel.