Search Results (4)

The aim of this study was to evaluate biogeographic variability in the fruit, kernel, kernel-oil and press-cake contents of 50 accessions of the beauty leaf tree (C. inophyllum L.) collected from 19 locations spanning 4000 km along the eastern and northern coasts of Australia (Northern Territory and Queensland). Mature fallen fruits of C. inophyllum were collected from individual trees and stored in a shed for over a year. The fruits were cracked open to extract the kernels, and the kernels were crushed to 5–10 mm. NIR spectra of crushed kernels were collected using FT–NIR. Results of this study showed large variation between individual trees and the provenances for oil, resin and cake contents. Most of the C. inophyllum genotypes were separated based on their NIR fingerprint using PCA and PLS-DA. It was concluded that NIR spectroscopy not only aids in the screening of large numbers of genotypes, but it also allows the preservation of the tested seeds for further propagation. This feature will have the greatest advantage in plant breeding and commercial cultivation, as only the seeds that contain high oil content could be sown to help establish plantations with high oil-production capacity. Overall, it was concluded that the differences between provenances for oil, resin and cake contents can be predicted using NIR spectra. Furthermore, NIR spectroscopy can be used as a tool to define provenance variations in the kernel oil content of the beauty leaf tree. Full article

This study optimizes pyrolysis conditions that will maximize energy recovery from the Beauty Leaf Tree (BLT; Calophyllum inophyllum L.) oil seed press cake. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to determine the behavior of pyrolysis coproducts (solid, liquid and gas) at various temperatures and residence times. One significant discovery was that 61.7% of the energy (of the whole BLT oil seed) was still retained in the BLT oil seed cake after oil extraction. Controlled pyrolysis produced various proportions of biochar, bio-oil and syngas coproducts. Predictive models were developed to estimate both the mass and energy yields of the coproducts. In all experimental runs, the biochar component had the highest mass yield and energy content. Biochar mass yields were high at the lowest operating temperature used, but the energy yields based on a high heating value (HHV) of products were optimal at higher operating temperatures. From the RSM models, energy from the biochar is optimized at a pyrolysis temperature of 425 °C and 75 min of exposure time. This biochar would have a heating value of 29.5 MJ kg⁻¹, which is similar to a good quality coal. At this condition, 56.6% of the energy can be recovered in the form of biochar and 20.6% from the bio-oil. The study shows that almost all the energy present in the feedstock can be recovered via pyrolysis. This indicates that commercial biodiesel producers from BLT oil seed (and other oil seed) should recover these additional valuable energies to generate high value coproducts. This additional efficient energy conversion process via controlled pyrolysis will improve the overall economics and the feasibility of 2nd generation biodiesel production from BLT—a highly potential species for cultivation in many tropical countries. Full article

Biodiesels are a renewable energy source, and they have the potential to be used as alternatives to diesel fuel. The aim of this study is to investigate the wear and friction characteristics of Australian native first generation and second generation biodiesels using a four-ball tribo tester. The biodiesel was produced through a two-step transesterification process and characterized according to the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards. The tribological experiment was carried out at a constant 1800 rpm and different loads and temperatures. In addition, the surface morphology of the ball was tested by scanning electron microscope (SEM)/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) analysis. The test results indicated that biodiesel fuels have a lower coefficient of frictions (COF) and lower wear scar diameter (WSD) up to 83.50% and 41.28%, respectively, compared to conventional diesel fuel. The worn surface area results showed that biodiesel fuel has a minimum percentage of C and O, except Fe, compared to diesel. In addition, the worn surface area for diesel was found (2.20%–27.92%) to be higher than biodiesel. The findings of this study indicated that both first and second generation biodiesel fuels have better tribological performance than diesel fuel, and between the biodiesel fuels, macadamia biodiesel showed better lubrication performance. Full article

In recent years, the beauty leaf plant (Calophyllum Inophyllum) is being considered as a potential 2nd generation biodiesel source due to high seed oil content, high fruit production rate, simple cultivation and ability to grow in a wide range of climate conditions. However, however, due to the high free fatty acid (FFA) content in this oil, the potential of this biodiesel feedstock is still unrealized, and little research has been undertaken on it. In this study, transesterification of beauty leaf oil to produce biodiesel has been investigated. A two-step biodiesel conversion method consisting of acid catalysed pre-esterification and alkali catalysed transesterification has been utilized. The three main factors that drive the biodiesel (fatty acid methyl ester (FAME)) conversion from vegetable oil (triglycerides) were studied using response surface methodology (RSM) based on a Box-Behnken experimental design. The factors considered in this study were catalyst concentration, methanol to oil molar ratio and reaction temperature. Linear and full quadratic regression models were developed to predict FFA and FAME concentration and to optimize the reaction conditions. The significance of these factors and their interaction in both stages was determined using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The reaction conditions for the largest reduction in FFA concentration for acid catalysed pre-esterification was 30:1 methanol to oil molar ratio, 10% (w/w) sulfuric acid catalyst loading and 75 °C reaction temperature. In the alkali catalysed transesterification process 7.5:1 methanol to oil molar ratio, 1% (w/w) sodium methoxide catalyst loading and 55 °C reaction temperature were found to result in the highest FAME conversion. The good agreement between model outputs and experimental results demonstrated that this methodology may be useful for industrial process optimization for biodiesel production from beauty leaf oil and possibly other industrial processes as well. Full article