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UDOFIA, BASSEY GABRIEL (B.Sc EVALUATION OF THE BIODIESEL POTENTIALS OF SELECTED PLANT BIOMASSES IN IBADAN NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, NIGERIA BY UDOFIA, BASSEY GABRIEL (B.Sc. Biochemistry, U.I.) Matric No: 127076 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF MASTERS OF PUBLIC HEALTH (ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH) DEGREE. DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES, FACULTY OF PUBLIC HEALTH, COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN. JANUARY, 2015 CERTIFICATION I certify that this research work was carried out by Udofia, Bassey Gabriel of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Faculty of Public Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Supervisor Dr G. R. E. E. Ana B.Sc (PH), M.Eng (PH), MPH (Ib), PhD (Ib), FLEAD (UK), MRSPH (UK), MAPHA (USA) Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Faculty of Public Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan. ii DEDICATION This work is dedicated to Jehovah God Almighty, in whose mercy and grace I found favour to carry out this research work from start to finish; and for the gift of life. Also dedicate this work to my Father (Cosmas Etim Udofia) and Mother (Eno Etim Udofia), both of whom have been my pillar of support and encouragement, without whom I might have even given up hope. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank the Almighty God, the author and finisher of my faith, and the one who alone is justifiable to receive all my praise in its entirety. I am forever grateful to you Lord for seeing me throughout my course of study and preserving my life up till this moment. I pray thee to receive my sincere thanks and appreciation. My profound and inestimable gratitude goes to my supervisor, Dr Godson R.E.E. Ana for his immense contribution to my personal and academic life. I cannot but say that your invaluable pieces of advice, criticism and encouragement have gone a long way in repositioning my mind for present and future challenges. Sir, you have not only taken me as student but also taken personal interest in my growth and development like a brother. I pray God to continually bless all the works of your hand and increase you in leaps and bounds even to achieve greater unprecedented feats in life. May he also keep and protect your family all the way. My warm and sincere appreciation goes to all the lecturers and staff of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences-Prof. M.K.C. Sridhar, Prof. A.M. Omishakin, Dr E.O. Oloruntoba, Dr O.T. Okareh, Mr O.M. Morakinyo, Mr B.T. Hammed, Mr Dele James, Mrs Olaide Ikpele and Mr Kehinde Adewusi, for their respective assistance in different ways in the course of my programme. May God continually bless you all and make your efforts in life fruitful. I will also like to use this opportunity to thank the members and staff of the Multidisciplinary Central Research Laboratory (MCRL), Nigerian Institute of Science Laboratory Technology (NISLT), Agronomy Department, Department of Botany, etc, who in one way or the other assisted me in the conduct of my bench work or my laboratory analyses, but who are just too numerous to mention. I pray that God who knows and sees all things will reward the time and effort you put into the accomplishment of this work wherever you may be. I will not forget to specially thank Mr Abiola T. Adebayo for his kind disposition and Mrs Oluronke Korede of the MCRL for her understanding, kind heartedness, motherly care and affection even to students who she doesn’t know from anywhere. I pray God to keep you and your family and help your children to find boundless favour wherever they go in life. iv This section would be incomplete if I fail to specially thank all my classmates (2011/2012 MPH set) of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences for their cordial relationship and enabling us all to work in tandem in accomplishing several set targets of the class even within tight time schedules. My special recognition goes to my notable departmental colleagues, Oluwafemi Muyiwa, Samuel Adekunle, Ifiok Udofia and Alufa Ife. My warm appreciation also goes to my colleague and my most-caring classmate-Alege Adenike. I pray God to bless and prosper you all abundantly. Finally, I would like to appreciate immensely my family and my siblings Mr Daniel Udofia, Mr Akaniyiene Udofia, Mr Kufre Udofia and Miss Blessing Udofia, for giving me a sense of belonging. I must once again sincerely appreciate my parents, who were not only committed financially to this work but also morally and physically, especially the immense role they played in the tedious process of collection and processing of the Spirogyra filaments and other biomasses used in this work. I pray God to bless and keep you and give you long life to reap the fruit of your labour. Udofia, Bassey Gabriel v ABSTRACT There has been an increasing emphasis on renewable sources of energy following recurrent economic crises and environmental concerns associated with petrodiesel. In Nigeria, there is an abundance of oil-bearing inedible plant biomasses, which are underutilized. Research into biodiesel production from these renewable oil sources can provide a more sustainable alternative to petrodiesel. This study was designed to evaluate the biodiesel yielding potentials of selected locally available plant biomasses. Four plant biomasses (Moringa oleifera, Elaeis guineensis, Thevetia peruviana and Spirogyra africana) were utilised. Oil extraction from the biomasses was carried out using Soxhlet and Cold-solvent extraction methods. Hexane-only (H-only) solvent was used in the Soxhlet extraction while two solvent systems were used in the Cold extraction [Hexane/Ether (H/E) mixture and H-only]. The extracted oils were processed to biodiesel via transesterification reaction using sodium hydroxide as catalyst, and two alcohol systems [Methanol/Ethanol (M/E) mixture and Methanol-only (M-only)]. Samples of biomasses were analysed for moisture content and levels of the elements-Phosphorus (P), Calcium (Ca), Sodium (Na) and Sulphur (S)]; and the oil samples for Kinematic Viscosity (KV), Free Fatty Acid (FFA) level and Saponification value. Samples of the biodiesels were also analysed for KV, Flash Point (FP), Acid Value (AV) and the levels of P, Ca, Na and S according to the methods described by the American Standard for Testing and Materials (ASTM D6751). Results of analyses were compared with ASTM D6751 guidelines. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and t-test at 5% level of significance. The oil yields from Soxhlet extraction, Cold extraction (H/E mixture) and Cold extraction (H- only) were: Moringa (45.0%, 27.7% and 18.0%), PK (38.4%, 33.2% and 25.4%), Thevetia (62.3%, 51.9% and 45.8%) and Spirogyra (22.3%, 11.5% and 6.4%) respectively. Similarly, biodiesel yield from the extracted oils in the M/E and M-only transesterification processes were: Moringa (61.2% and 65.5%), PK (72.4% and 75.3%), Thevetia (78.4% and 85.2%) and Spirogyra (19.1% and 26.2%) respectively. The M-only alcohol proved to be more effective than the M/E mixture as it gave better biodiesel yield. Moisture content of the seeds of Moringa, PK, Thevetia and Spirogyra were 9.4%, 8.3%, 6.6% and 39.7% respectively. The KV, FFA level and Saponification value of the oils were Moringa (44.5 mm2/s, 3.0%, 192.5 mgKOH/g), PK (4.9 vi mm2/s, 1.9%, 230.2 mgKOH/g), and Thevetia (21.5 mm2/s, 0.6%, 120.1 mgKOH/g). Also, the KV, FP, and AV of the biodiesels were Moringa (5.0 mm2/s, 176oC and 0.7 mgKOH/g), PK (2.4 mm2/s, 166oC and 0.4 mgKOH/g), and Thevetia (4.7 mm2/s, 130oC and 0.4 mgKOH/g). Analyses of elemental composition of the biomasses and biodiesels revealed a significant decline in the percentage compositions of P, Ca, Na and S in the biomasses when compared to their respective biodiesel. Spirogyra oil and biodiesel were insufficient to undergo the physiochemical tests. The seeds of Moringa, Palm kernel and Thevetia are good sources of oil for biodiesel production but Thevetia proved to be the highest oil- and biodiesel-yielding biomass. The quality parameters of the biodiesels were found to be within international acceptable standard. Keywords: Biodiesel production, Plant biomasses, Cold-solvent extraction, Transesterification Word count: 489 vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Title page i Certification ii Dedication iii Acknowledgements iv Abstract vi Table of Contents viii List of Tables xiv List of Figures xvi List of Plates xviii List of Formulae xx Glossary of Technical terms and Abbreviations xxi CHAPTER ONE 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Background Information 1 1.2 Problem Statement 3 1.3 Rationale for the study 4 1.4 Objective of the study 5 1.4.1 Broad Objective 5 1.4.2 Specific Objectives 5 CHAPTER TWO 6 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 6 2.1 Fossil fuels 6 2.1.1 Challenges associated with fossil fuels 6 2.1.2 Quality of Emissions from Fossil Fuels 8 viii 2.2 Biofuels 10 2.3 Classes of Biofuels 11 2.3.1 First Generation Biofuels 11 2.3.2 Second Generation Biofuels 12 2.4 Prospects of Biofuel Production 12 2.5 Biodiesel 12 2.5.1 Quality of Emissions from Biodiesel 15 2.6 Conventional Feedstock for Biodiesel Production 15 2.7. Prospects of Biodiesel Production 19 2.7.1 Effects of Biodiesel Production on the Economy 19 2.7.2 Challenges associated with Biodiesel Production 22 2.7.3 Challenges associated with Biodiesel Production from Edible Vegetable oils 22 2.7.4 Effects of biodiesel use on different factors 23 2.7.4.1 Environmental Benefits of Biodiesel use 23 2.7.4.2 Health Benefits of Biodiesel use 25 2.7.4.3 Other Benefits of Biodiesel use 25 2.7.5 Future Outlook for Biodiesel Production 28 2.8 Local oil Biomasses for Biodiesel Production 30 2.8.1 Biomass 30 2.8.2 Challenges of Biofuel Production from Biomasses 33 2.9 Algal Biomass 34 2.9.1 Basic Algae Biology 34 2.9.2 Classes of Algae 35 2.9.3 Important Functions of Algae in the Environment 36 2.9.4 Spirogyra 38 2.9.5 Cultivation and Reproduction of Spirogyra biomass 40 2.9.6 Prospects of Algal oil as a Biofuel 40 ix 2.10 Moringa oleifera Biomass 44 2.10.1 Moringa plant 44 2.10.2 Plant Morphology 46 2.10.3 Cultivation of Moringa oleifera 49 2.10.4 Prospects of M.
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