Application of Microwaves in the Production Process of Biodiesel from Bulk Oil

Abstract

Using bulk oil as biodiesel fuel is a waste reduction opportunity that creates economic value and creates alternative fuels to replace diesel fuel. The research was conducted through the transesterification reaction of bulk oil and methanol in batches using microwave heating to speed up the reaction time. The research is expected to show the right performance and response time to achieve optimal biodiesel yield and biodiesel properties, according to the Indonesian Nasional Standard (SNI). The experiment used two power levels (100 and 400 watts) and three reaction times (5, 10 and 15 minutes). Based on the analysis of variance and extended Duncan’s test, microwave power and response time were found to have a significant <0.05 impact on product yield. The highest yield was 93.3%, achieved with a variation of 100 watts and a process time of 10 minutes. The results showed that, except for total glycerol, all quality criteria (density, acid number, saponification rate, methyl ester content, and iodine) met the SNI 7182:2015 standard [17]. It can be concluded that the use of microwaves has the potential to shorten the reaction time of biodiesel production while at the same time achieving high yield and good biodiesel quality.