A recent study shows that coconut oil could be used as biodiesel: renewable and alternative energy for diesel engines. The study findings suggest that coconut oil biodiesel is capable of running an engine and other properties showed promising results.

Production of biodiesel from coconut oil is likely higher compared to yields from soybean and rapeseed. Also, the energy output, fuel consumption rate, and lubrication properties of coconut biodiesel are better than the two aforementioned plant-based biodiesels.

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Coconut Oil as an Alternative Fuel 

As the demand for energy and power increases, the depletion of fossil fuel supplies is also inevitable. Most countries source fossil fuels from other countries. Finding local, renewable energy has become a necessary action to reduce the dependency on imported fuel.

In Bangladesh, where the study took place, coconuts are widely grown. Therefore, an experiment was conducted in the country to better study the performance of a small diesel engine using various blends of biodiesel derived from coconut oil. 

The study revealed that although coconut biodiesel has slightly different properties than diesel fuel, it is capable of running the engine. 

Authors of the study are A. Hossain M.D., Shabab M. Chowdhury, Yamin Rekhu, Khandakar S. Faraz, Monzur Ul Islam. They published their research on the World Academy of Science, Engineering, and Technology in December 2012.

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Making Coconut Oil Biodiesel

Vegetable oil as biodiesel has been tried various times over the years. The first use of vegetable oil in a compression ignition engine used peanut oil. Oils from soybean, sunflower, safflower, linseed, and rapeseed have also been used. 

It was discovered the prolonged use of vegetable oil could lead to injector cooking and thickening of crankcase oil, which causes piston rings to stick. Because of this, vegetable oils are not recommended for SI engines.

However, various methods of vegetable oil modification were made to address the said concern. For coconut oil, transesterification converted the oil into esters, separating glycerin from the main product. The glycerin floats on top of the biodiesel and is then decanted off. 

Impurities from the coconut biodiesel were then removed. 

Properties of Coconut Biodiesel 

Several experiments on biodiesel derived from coconut oil show that its fuel properties are at par with conventional fossil diesel. Various blends with biodiesel and petroleum diesel have been tested. 

The researchers noted that properties such as heating value, viscosity, and a flashpoint of coconut oil biodiesel and petroleum diesel were also compared in this experiment. 

The study indicated that the cost of running a diesel engine with biodiesel blends is more expensive compared to petroleum diesel fuel. However, the researchers explain that the cost could reduce if methanol is recycled after the transesterification reaction. This study also used processed coconut oil, and the study team thinks that using the unprocessed could also reduce production costs.

At this point, developing countries are suffering from energy crises, and biodiesel is a promising source of fuel. The team also noted that although production costs for biodiesel are high, it is friendly to the environment and on the forefront as a potential source of renewable energy. 

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Check out more news and information on Biodiesel on Nature World News.