Abstract
In the present study, we demonstrate the properties of rubber seed oil (RSO) and its potential application for producing biodiesel by lipase-catalyzed transesterification. Rubber seed contains 39.45% of oil on a dry weight basis. Lipase was secreted from novel bacterial isolate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain BUP2. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) cum Box-Behnken Design (BBD) was employed to optimize the combined effect of different independent parameters namely oil-methanol ratio, enzyme unit, reaction temperature and reaction time. Biodiesel yield of 99.52% was obtained in the validation experiments at the optimal level of lipase (750 U), methanol ratio (1:10), temperature (45 °C) and time (4 h). The fuel properties of biodiesel obtained under the validation condition met the specifications as mentioned in ASTM D6751 and EN 14214 standards. Biodiesel aliquots were characterized using thin-layer chromatography (TLC), gas chromatography (GC), fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) and elemental analysis. The present study demonstrates an important application of a potential substitute for fossil fuel from raw feedstocks with high economic value.