Chemometric characterization of vegetable oils based on the fatty acid profiles for selection of potential feedstocks for biodiesel production

Abstract

Copyright © 2015 American Scientific Publishers. Variation in the fatty acid (FA) profiles of 119 vegetable oils and their influence on selected fuel properties of the obtainable biodiesels were evaluated using chemometric tools like hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA). The aim was to classify the oils as potential feedstocks of biodiesel that could meet the selected requirements set by the EN14214 standard. Additionally, similarities between non edible oils and those from food crops were considered in order to identify low cost non edible biodiesel feedstocks that resemble FA profiles of the suitable edible feedstocks. In this way, the work contributes to the mapping of potential (alternative) biodiesel feedstocks, which might be of special interest for practicioners interested in alternative and non edible oil sources. The literature-derived data on the contents of fourteen FAs in vegetable oils were taken into account, as well as the following fuel properties of the corresponding biodiesels, which were calculated on the base of the oils' FA composition: iodine value (IV), cetane number (CN), cold filter plugging point (CFPP) and viscosities. The groups (clusters) of similar feedstocks (e.g., "polyunsaturated," "saturated," "monounsaturated") and the oil outliers were observed and described in order to point out the potential biodiesel feedstocks worldwide, including "non-edible" alternatives and the inherent properties of the obtainable biodiesel fuels. HCA proved to be a successful tool to classify the oils with specific compositional features that would lead to the production of biodiesel in compliance with the EN14214 standard limits, while PCA clearly indicated the outlying oils with the extreme FA profiles.