Effect of fertilizer on yield and quality of Jatropha curcas L. Oil.

• Main Author: Zhou, Yanfang.
• Other Authors: Tan Thatt Yang Timothy
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Chemical engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/16394
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Jatropha curcas L. is a drought resistant crop that can survive in harsh conditions. Being toxic in nature, it does not compete with other food crops. Therefore, the various characteristics of Jatropha curcas L. presents it as a possible feedstock for biodiesel production. The yield and quality of the oil extracted from Jatropha seeds were investigated under three different controlled nutrient conditions based on the amount of Osmocote® Plus added. Elemental analysis on the leaves of Jatropha curcas L. had shown that nitrogen content increased from 1.9 % to 4.0 % as the amount of fertilizer added increased. Chemical extraction of Jatropha oil using 95% n-Hexane was done in order to obtain oil yield of Jatropha seeds from the respective plants. It was found that oil yield for the three conditions ranges from 39.91 % to 57.63 % showing no trends in conjunction with the amount of fertilizer added. The quality of extracted oil was determined through Cetane number which was calculated with the results from Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The fatty acids that were analyzed were namely, oleic, palmitic, stearic and linoleic acid. The CN of the various Jatropha oil was found to increase from 36 to 38 when the amount of fertilizers added increases from 60g to 240g. It was also found that the fatty acid content increases from 0.21mg/ml to 0.65mg/ml. Therefore, this report highlights the importance of fertilizer treatment in increasing the CN and fatty acid content of Jatropha oil. (Key words: Jatropha curcas L., Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Cetane number, oleic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid and linoleic acid)