Fuel 140 (2015) 9096

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Fuel
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Optimization of biodiesel production from Manilkara zapota (L.) seed oil

using Taguchi method
R. Sathish Kumar a,, K. Sureshkumar a, R. Velraj b
a
b

Department of Mechanical Engineering, B.S. Abdur Rahman University, Vandalur, Chennai 600 048, India
Institute for Energy Studies, Anna University, Chennai 600 025, India

h i g h l i g h t s
 Development of a new biodiesel from fruit seeds which is not yet reported in literatures.
 Optimization of four major inuencing parameters of transesterication of the new oil using Taguchi method.
 Report on production of the new biodiesel with optimized process parameters and its physiochemical properties.
 Physicochemical properties of the new biodiesel meeting the requirements of EN 14214 standards for biodiesel.
 A new renewable source of energy for use in unmodied diesel engine applications.

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 17 April 2014
Received in revised form 25 September
2014
Accepted 25 September 2014
Available online 5 October 2014
Keywords:
Manilkara zapota
Optimization
Taguchi method
Biodiesel
Transesterication

a b s t r a c t
In this work, the optimization of transesterication process parameters for the production of Manilkara
Zapota Methyl Ester (MZME) has been studied. Molar ratio of methanol to oil, time of reaction,
temperature of reaction, and concentration of catalyst were the four parameters considered in the study.
Taguchi experimental design was used for the optimization of the above mentioned four process parameters of transesterication. The physicochemical properties and fatty acid methyl ester concentrations
were experimentally analyzed. The experimental study revealed that 50 C temperature of reaction,
90 min of time of reaction, 6:1 M ratio of methanol to oil and 1 wt% of concentration of catalyst are
the optimal process parameters. Also the study revealed that out of the four parameters considered,
methanol to oil molar ratio is most effective in controlling the optimal biodiesel production. The optimal
conditions yielded 94.83% of biodiesel. The biodiesel MZME produced with the optimized process
parameters meets the global standards for biodiesel EN 14214 and hence could be considered as a
suitable substitute for fossil diesel in unmodied diesel engine applications.
2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Biodiesel, a promising renewable substitute source of fuel
produced from tree born oils, vegetable based oils, fats of animals
and even waste cooking oil has been identied as one of the key
solutions for the alarming global twin problems of fossil fuel
depletion and environmental degradation [14]. Even though it
was identied in the beginning of 20th century by Rudolf Diesel,
extensive researches have been started in the tail end of 20th
century, when the demand for fossil fuel increased [58]. Biodiesel
has gained greater attention because of the advantages such as
Corresponding author at: Department of Mechanical Engineering, B.S. Abdur
Rahman University, Vandalur, Chennai 600 048, Tamil Nadu, India. Tel.: +91
9942167709; fax: +91 44 22750520.
E-mail address: sathish.rajamanickam@gmail.com (R. Sathish Kumar).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2014.09.103
0016-2361/ 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

(i) being renewable and biodegradable, (ii) higher cetane number,

(iii) lower emission of carbon monoxide, particulate matters and
unburnt hydrocarbon and (iv) lower sulfur and aromatic content.
However, still it is not fully replacing fossil diesel, because of disadvantages such as higher NOx emission, higher viscosity, lower
oxidative and storage stability which need to be addressed [913].
Through persistent and intensive research, some of the above
problems have already been addressed. An antioxidant additive
can be used to increase the long term storage stability. Oxygenated,
antioxidant and cetane improving additives can be used to reduce
the NOx emission [1418]. As most of the feed stocks used for
biodiesel are edible and the cost of raw material is very high to
the tune of 6080% of the total cost, it becomes essential now a
days to identify new and underutilized feedstock for biodiesel production [1923]. To overcome the above problems, researchers
have turned focusing more attention on non-edible oils such as

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R. Sathish Kumar et al. / Fuel 140 (2015) 9096

Pongamia, Jatropha, rubber seed, soap seed and neem seed and
Camelina [2428].
Manilkara zapota, popularly known as sapodilla, a forest tree
with long life span is mostly found in southern Mexico, Caribbean
and Central America. It is also cultivated in larger scale in India,
Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh mainly for
its fruit. It is known as chikoo (chiku) in Northern India, and sapota
in southern parts of India. It is evergreen tree grows in wide range
of climatic conditions and all tropical lands like wet tropics to dry
cool subtropical areas. The soils can be slightly alkaline, well dried
with medium textured loams. Even though the tree owers and
fruits throughout the year, maximum yield occurs during the
period of March to June.
The evergreen M. zapota (sapota) is a large tree mainly cultivated for its fruit. Its normal growth can reach up to around
30 m height with the maximum diameter of trunk 1.5 m. The fruits
have a rough brownish skin with 112 seeds of color brown or
black. The seeds are covered by a juicy sweet brownish esh which
is eaten raw or made into jam and juice. The seeds are not utilized
for any major purpose except seedling. M. zapota seeds have an oil
content of 2330% and hence this underutilized oil seed can be
considered for biodiesel production.
The primary objective of this investigation is to optimize the
key parameters of transesterication process of M. zapota seed
oil (MZO). As MZO has not yet been studied for the biodiesel production, it is considered essential to optimize the key process
parameters like molar ratio of methanol to oil, concentration of
catalyst, temperature of reaction, and time of reaction. Furthermore the properties of M. zapota seed oil and its methyl ester were
estimated and compared with EN 14214 biodiesel standards.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Materials and experimental setup
M. zapota (L.) seeds were collected. 99.9% pure analytical grade
methanol and potassium hydroxide in pellet form of above 85%
purity were used for the biodiesel production. The experimental
setup consists of a half litre four-necked batch type spherical glass
reactor, with a water-cooled condenser in one of the necks, a speed
controlled mechanical stirrer, a temperature controlled heating
mantle and a thermometer. The arrangement of the batch type
transesterication reactor used in the study is shown in Fig. 1.
2.2. Extraction of M. zapota oil and its characterization
The collected seeds were dried in sunlight for about 24 h to
remove the 10% moisture content in it. The shell was removed

manually from the dry seeds. Mechanical screw type mini expeller
manufactured by M/s. Rajkumar Agro Engineers Private Limited,
Pune, India, was used to extract oil from the raw dry seeds. The
approximate oil content of the M. zapota seed lies between
2530% of the weight of the seed. The oil was ltered and dried
at 60 C. The various important properties of raw oil and biodiesel
were estimated. Fatty acid compositions were measured using a
gas chromatograph (PerkinElmer Clarus 500 Auto System XL with
elite series PE-5 capillary column, 30 m  0.25 mm  1 lm)
coupled with a mass spectrometer (GC-MS) (Turbo; EI, 70 eV).
DB-1 (100% dimethylpolysiloxane) column with helium as the
carrier gas at a ow rate of 1 ml min1.
Kinematic viscosity was measured at 40 C using a Brookeld
DV-II Proviscometer as per the procedure of ASTM D 445. The pour
point and the cloud point were simultaneously estimated in
accordance with ASTM D 5949 and ASTM D 5773 respectively.
Flash point was measured using Pensky Martene open cup apparatus. Heating value was determined with the use of Parr 6772
bomb calorimeter. Density at 15 C was measured using a Rudolph
DDM 2909 Automatic Density Meter. The values of iodine number
and cetane number were calculated as per the standards of ASTM.
The acid value was determined using a suitable titration with
standardized KOH solution with phenolphthalein as the indicator.
2.3. Transesterication process
One of the key properties of raw oil to decide about the type of
transesterication process such as one step or two step transesterication process is free fatty acid (FFA) content. If the FFA content
of the oil is less than 2.5%, then one step transesterication process
with a base catalyst should be used and if it exceeds 2.5%, two step
transesterication process should be the choice. In this study as the
FFA content of MZO was 1.86%, single step base catalyst transesterication method has been adopted.
100 g (0.1) of MZO was placed in a four-necked batch reactor
and heated to the required temperature. The stirrer speed was
maintained at 500 rpm for constant mixing. The methoxide solution was prepared by dissolving the exactly measured quantity of
solid catalyst (KOH) in premeasured quantity of methanol. Once
the oil reached the required temperature, the prepared methoxide
was slowly poured into the reactor. The completion of pouring
instant was taken as the start of reaction. The condenser was
installed on one of the four necks to capture and reuse any
vaporized methanol. Fig. 2 shows the chemical kinetics of
transesterication process [2830]. The major inuencing
parameters considered for optimization and testing in the transesterication process are molar ratio of methanol to oil, time of
reaction, temperature of reaction, and concentration of catalyst
and selected values for these parameters are shown in Table 1.
Upon reaching the predened time of reaction, the reactor was
taken out of the heating mantle and the products of the reaction
were shifted to a 500 ml separating conical funnel. After 24 h of
settling, the heavy glycerol layer settled at the bottom of the funnel
was removed through a drainage valve. The remaining crude biodiesel produced from MZO was gently washed with distilled water
at 40 C in order to remove the unreacted methanol, catalysts and
impurities. The percentage yield of biodiesel has been calculated
using the formula:

Biodiesel yield % : Y

Fig. 1. Experimental setup for the batch type transesterication process.

grams of methyl ester produced

 100
grams of oil used inreaction
1

The step by step procedure followed in the production of

biodiesel from M. zapota seed oil through transesterication process is shown in Fig. 3. The Manilkara Zapota Methyl Ester (MZME)

92

R. Sathish Kumar et al. / Fuel 140 (2015) 9096

O
O

H2C
HC

(CH2)n CH3

OH

O
O

H2C

C
O

(CH2)nCH3

(CH2)n CH3

+ 3 CH 3OH

H2C

HC

OH

3 H3CO

(CH2)n CH3

H2C
O

OH

triglyceride in
vegetable oil

methanol

glycerol

methyl ester of fatty acid

"biodiesel"

Fig. 2. Transesterication reaction.

Table 1
Chosen parameters and their levels.
Parameters

A
B
C
D

Levels

Methanol to oil (molar ratio)

Concentration of catalyst (wt%)
Time of reaction (min)
Temperature of reaction (C)

4:1
0.5
60
50

6:1
1
90
60

8:1
1.5
120
70

produced under optimal condition was analyzed. ASTM specications were followed to determine the properties of MZME and
the estimated properties have been compared with EN14214 biodiesel standards.

inuencing the process and the extent to which they can be varied.
The very specialty of this method is not to investigate all the possible parameters combinations but only few pairs of combinations.
This method paves way for collation of data for the determination of factors which most inuence the quality of product with
minimal number of experiments so as to reduce precious time
and resources. This method is very effective with nominal number
of parameters (350), few interactions between them and a very
few contributing signicantly.
From the Orthogonal Arrays (OA), the required number of
experiments and their conditions can be nalized. The number of
parameters and the variation levels of each parameter decide the
OA selection. The least possible number of experiments N is
decided from the number of levels L and number of design and
chosen control parameters P using the relation N = (L  1) P + 1.

2.4. Design of experiments (DOE) using orthogonal array

2.5. Selection of control parameters and their levels
Dr. G. Taguchi developed a new method to examine the effect of
different parameters of a process on the mean and variance of performance characteristic that determines the proper functioning of
the process. This method for design of experiments makes use of
orthogonal arrays for the optimization of different parameters

Manilkara Zapota seed oil MZO

Pre-treatment

2.6. Signal to noise ratio (SNR) and analysis of variance (ANOVA)

Titration

FFA 2.5%

FFA > 2.5%

Esterification using acid

catalyst
KOH
Methoxide
solution
Methanol

Transesterification using
base catalyst

Phase separation

Crude glycerol

Among the different parameters inuencing the production

yield of biodiesel such as reaction temperature, time for reaction,
type of alcohol and its quantity, type of catalyst and its concentration, agitation or stirring speed, quality of the reactants and moisture content in the oil, only the four most inuencing parameters
and three levels (L = 3, P = 4 as shown in Table 1) have been
considered in this study. The effects of the four chosen parameters
at three different levels have been studied by conducting only nine
experiments as per L9 OA shown in Table 2. Each experiment has
been repeated thrice in order to minimize the errors.

Taguchi suggested to use the loss function to calculate the

deviation between the experimental value and desired value of
performance characteristics. The value of loss function has further
been converted into a signal to noise ratio (SNR). SNRs are the log
functions of the expected outcome which would be serving as
objective of optimization problem. Then SNR is used to calculate
the extent of deviation of quality function from the expected value.
There are three types of SNRs used in Taguchi method depending
upon the objective of the problem. Larger-the-Better (LTB) for
maximization problems, Smaller-the-Better (STB) for minimization
problem and Nominal-the-Better (NTB) for normalization problems can be adopted. The SNR (dB) for NTB, STB and LTB models
can be calculated as given below.

Crude biodiesel

Nominal the best  SNRi 10 log

Purification using
distilled water

 2
yi
s2i

Smaller the better  SNRi 10 log

n y2
X
j
j1

Pure biodiesel
Fig. 3. Process ow chart of biodiesel production from Manilkara zapota seed oil.

2
!
3

n
1 X
1
Larger the better  SNRi 10 log
n j1 y2j

!
4

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R. Sathish Kumar et al. / Fuel 140 (2015) 9096

Table 2
L9 orthogonal array for DOE with four parameters at three levels (34).
Experiment no.

Parameters and their levels

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Methanol/oil (Molar ratio)

Concentration of catalyst (wt%)

Time for reaction (min)

Reaction temperature (C)

1
1
1
2
2
2
3
3
3

1
2
3
1
2
3
1
2
3

1
2
3
2
3
1
3
1
2

1
2
3
3
1
2
2
3
1

where

yi
s2i

n
1 X
y
n j1 i;j

!
mean value of response

n
X
1
y  yi
n  1 j1 i;j

!
variance

i is the experiment number, j is trial number and n is the number of

trials.
SNR based experimental data evaluation has been carried out
for the identication of optimal parameter combinations. As the
objective is to attain maximum yield of biodiesel, out of the
available three different SNR quality characteristics, based on the
nature of variables, Larger-the-Better (LTB) has been adopted in
the present study. Accordingly the optimal level of control or
design parameter will be the level with the highest SNR. By using
SNR analysis, it is possible to obtain optimum level of each
parameter and optimum set of parameters producing the
maximum biodiesel yield, however it is incapable of identifying
which factor has inuenced the output signicantly and how much
each factor contributed to the output. This could be achieved by
conducting statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the response
data. For carrying out ANOVA of response data, computation of
sum of squares is essential. The percentage of contribution was
calculated by using the following equations.

% contribution of factor

SSf
 100
SST

where SSf is the sum of the squares for fth parameter and SST is the
total sum of the squares of all parameters.

SSf

h
i2
n SNRL fj  SNRT

3
X

j1

where n is the number of experiments at level j of factor f

SST

9
X

SNRi  SNRT 2

content, suitable production process was selected. Table 3 shows

the composition and the percentage weight content of different
types of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids of MZO. The highest
content of unsaturated fatty acid was found to be oleic acid
(64.15%) and the next one was linoleic acid (17.92%). Palmitic acid
tops the list with saturated fatty acid content. The total unsaturated and saturated fatty acid content of MZO was found to be
83.93% and 16.07% respectively.
Table 4 depicts the physicochemical properties of MZO. The
molecular weight of MZO has been calculated as 873.95 g/mol.
The molecular weight of each fatty acid was rst calculated by
multiplying the number of atoms and atomic weights of constituting atoms present in the molecule. The average molecular weight
of all fatty acids (AMWFA) was calculated by summing up the
products of molecular weights of each fatty acid and its constituent
proportion in the total fatty acids content of the oil. As the oil is a
triglyceride containing three fatty acids and one glycerol, its
molecular weight is calculated using

MW 3  AMWFA weight of glycerol backbone

10

3.2. Determination of optimal experimental condition by Taguchi

method
The percentage yield of methyl ester from raw MZO under the
designed nine set of experiments, their SNRs and overall mean
Table 3
Fatty acid composition of Manilkara zapota seed oil.
Fatty acids

Content (%)

Molecular weight

Palmitic acid (C16:0)

Stearic acid (C18:0)
Oleic acid (C18:1)
Linoleic acid (C18:2)
Linolenic acid (C18:3)

13.27
2.80
64.15
17.92
1.86

256.4
284.5
282.5
280.5
278.4

Total saturated
Total unsaturated

16.07%
83.93%

i1

A conrmation test with three trials has been carried out with
the set of optimum parameters and the statistical analysis has been
validated.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Properties of the M. zapota seed oil
Crude MZO has been used for biodiesel production without any
rening process. Its physicochemical properties and fatty acid
composition have been studied to nd the suitability as feed stock
for biodiesel production. Based on its properties and fatty acid

Table 4
Physicochemical properties of Manilkara zapota seed oil.
Parameters

Values

Density at 15 C (g/cm3)
Kinematic viscosity at 40 C (mm2/s)
Free fatty acid (% FFA as oleic acid)
Acid value (mg KOH/g)
Iodine value (g Iodine/100 g)
Peroxide value (g/kg O2)
Color
Molecular weight (g/mol)
Percentage oil content in kernel (%)
Physical state at room temperature
pH

0.887
34.75
1.89
3.79
65.02
269.54
Brownish yellow
873.95
2330%
Liquid
3.5

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R. Sathish Kumar et al. / Fuel 140 (2015) 9096

Table 5
Percentage of yield and SNR for the 9 set of experiments.
Experiment no.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

4:1
4:1
4:1
6:1
6:1
6:1
8:1
8:1
8:1

0.5
1.0
1.5
0.5
1.0
1.5
0.5
1.0
1.5

60
90
120
90
120
60
120
60
90

50
60
70
70
50
60
60
70
50

% of Yield
Trail 1

Trail 2

Trail 3

70.8
83.5
83.3
82.4
94.4
84.5
70.1
81.4
87.2

78.4
87.8
77.8
81.8
91.8
93.4
74.4
84.3
82.8

77.6
85.6
79.5
75.2
94.6
87.0
72.2
85.3
85.6

Mean yield (%)

SNR

75.6
85.6
80.2
79.8
93.6
88.3
72.2
83.7
85.2

37.57
38.65
38.08
38.04
39.43
38.92
37.17
38.45
38.61

Overall mean SNRT

38.32

SNR are tabulated in Table 5. In the present work the maximization

of biodiesel yield is set as objective, hence the larger the better
(LTB) SNR model has been used. The results show that the
experiment number 5 has the highest mean yield of 93.6% and
experiment 7 has the lowest mean yield of 72.2%. Though the set
of parameters correspond to experiment 5 has the highest yield,
this would not be the optimum set of parameters.
The level mean signal to noise ratio (SNRL), which is the
algebraic mean of all the SNRs of a particular control parameter
at a specied level, has been calculated. In this experimental study,
for parameter B at level 1, SNRL has been found to be 37.59 using
the values (37.57, 38.04 and 37.17) taken from experiment Nos. 1,
4 and 7 and at level 2, SNRL (38.84) corresponding to the values
(38.65, 39.43 and 38.45) taken from experiment Nos. 2, 5 and 8
and so on. The SNRL, DSNR (difference in maximum SNRL to
minimum SNRL of particular parameter), and rank for all four
parameters have been calculated. The rank was given based on
the value of DSNR. Higher DSNR value was assigned rank 1. Based
on the rank, the concentration of catalyst has been identied as the
most inuencing parameter on the yield of MZME. Molar ratio of
methanol to oil and temperature of reaction are the second and
third inuencing factors followed by time of reaction.
The effects of each parameter at three different levels on MZME
yield in terms of SNRL are shown in Fig. 4. A higher value of SNRL
infers a greater inuence of the particular parameter at that level.
The maximum value in each graph species the optimum level of
that particular parameter on the yield of MZME. Therefore, the
optimum level of each parameter for the maximum yield of MZME

were A (Molar ratio of methanol to oil) at level 2 (6:1), B (concentration of catalyst) at level 2 (1%), C (time of reaction) at level 2
(90 min) and D (temperature of reaction) at level 1 (50 C).
3.3. Analysis of variance (ANOVA)
The most signicant process parameter was identied by
calculating the percentage contribution of each parameter on the
biodiesel yield. The calculated SSf and % contribution were
tabulated in Table 6. From the contribution table it was observed
that concentration of catalyst was the most signicant parameter
with 67.34% contribution on the biodiesel yield from M. zapota
seed oil followed by molar ratio of methanol to oil with 25.85%
contribution. The time of reaction was the least inuencing process
parameter with 1.6% contribution followed by temperature of
reaction. It shows that the major amount of biodiesel conversion
has attained close to the start of reaction. The rate of conversion
is high during the start of reaction and it is not affected after it
reached the steady state.

Table 6
Percentage contribution of process parameters.
Parameter

SSf

% Contribution

Methanol/oil (Molar ratio)

Concentration of catalyst
Time for reaction
Reaction Temperature

0.3269
0.8517
0.0203
0.0659

25.85
67.34
1.60
5.21

Methanol : oil molar ratio

39.0

Catalyst concentration

Mean of SN ratios

38.5
38.0
37.5
1

Reaction time

39.0

Reaction Temperature

38.5
38.0
37.5
1

Signal-to-noise: Larger is better

Fig. 4. SNRL of each parameter at different levels.

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R. Sathish Kumar et al. / Fuel 140 (2015) 9096

Table 7
Properties of Manilkara Zapota Methyl Ester (MZME) in comparison with biodiesel standard (EN 14214) and diesel.
Properties

Units

EN 14214

MZME

Diesel

Test method

Ester content
Density at 15 C
Kinematic viscosity
Acid value
Iodine value
Pour point
Flash point
Heating value
Cetane number
Sulphur content
Monoglyceride content
Diglyceride content
Triglyceride content
Free glycerol content
Total glycerol

% (m/m)
g/cm3
mm2/s
mg KOH/g
g iodine/100 g
C
C
MJ/kg

Min 96.5
0.860.90
3.55
Max 0.50
Max 120
Max 0
Min 120
Min 35
Min 51
Max 10
Max 0.8
Max 0.2
Max 0.2
Max 0.02
Max 0.25

96.8
0.875
4.67
0.15
65.28
6
174
37.2
52
0
0.52
0.13
0.12
0.00
0.17

0.861
2.96
0.18

12
48
44.8
51
350

EN14103
ASTM D4052
ASTM D445
ASTM D664
AOAC CD1-25
ASTM D97
ASTM D93
ASTM D240
ASTM D613
ASTM D5459
EN14105
EN14105
EN14105
EN14105
EN14105

mg/kg
% (m/m)
% (m/m)
% (m/m)
% (m/m)
% (m/m)

3.4. Prediction of maximum yield and its validation

The prediction of theoretical maximum yield of MZME under
the optimum conditions can be calculated by using the relation.

Yo 10

SNRo
5

 The concentration of catalyst and the molar ratio of methanol to

oil were identied as the two most important process parameters inuencing bio diesel formation.
 The key properties of MZME are found to meet the requirements of EN 14214 biodiesel standards.

11

where SNRo is the SN ratio under optimum conditions and Yo is the

theoretical optimum yield. The predicted theoretical yield of MZME
under optimum conditions was 95.83%.
In order to validate the percentage yield of MZME correspond to
optimal conditions predicted from this study, biodiesel MZME was
prepared through transesterication process in three trials under
the optimum level of parameters. The results were 94.50%,
93.80% and 96.20% from trail 1, trail 2 and trail 3 respectively.
The mean value of the three trails 94.83% closely matches with that
of theoretical estimated value and the slight variation could be due
to the inuence of extraneous variable.
3.5. Properties of Manilkara Zapota Methyl Ester
Major properties of MZME namely density, viscosity, acid value,
peroxide value, heating value, pour point, ash point, iodine value,
pH, and cetane number were estimated using ASTM standards and
reported in Table 7. All the above mentioned properties were
compared with EN 14214 biodiesel standards. The results show
that all the properties of MZME are meeting the requirements of
EN14214 biodiesel standards and hence MZME could be a potential
substitute to petrodiesel.
4. Conclusion
In this experimental investigation, the production, characterization and optimization of critical process parameters inuencing
the transesterication process of a new biodiesel derived from
M. zapota seed oil have been studied and reported.
Methanol with KOH as catalyst was used for the transesterication process. Molar ratio of methanol to oil, concentration of
catalyst, time of reaction and temperature of reaction were the
four inuencing parameters considered for the optimization of
biodiesel production using Taguchi method.
 The experimentally determined optimum conditions for the
production of MZME are: 6:1 methanol to oil molar ratio, 1%
(w/w) concentration of catalyst, 90 min time of reaction and
50 C temperature of reaction and the corresponding yield rate
is 94.83%.

Hence MZME could be considered as a potential substitute to

the fossil diesel and address the global concerns of energy crisis
and environmental degradation.
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Camelina oil using orthogonal experiment. Appl Energy 2011;88(11):361524.
[2] Karabas Hulya. Biodiesel production from crude acorn (Quercus frainetto L.)
kernel oil: an optimisation process using the Taguchi method. Renew Energy
2013;53:3848.
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