Co-Production of Biodiesel and Activated Carbon from Rubber Seed

Abstract

A co-production process of biodiesel and activated carbon from rubber seed was proposed. Biodiesel was synthesized by in-situ  transesterification of the oil extracted from rubber seed in n-hexane. Although the rubber seed contained a large amount of free  fatty acids (FFA), the fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield reached 98 % after 15 min-reaction due to the low extraction of FFA  from the rubber seed in n-hexane. Co-carbonization of the rubber seed residue after the in-situ transesterification and the crude  glycerin containing KOH improved the pore properties of activated carbon product, such as BET surface area and pore volume. As  a result, the resulting activated carbon indicated methylene blue adsorption ability.