Study of the potential of Neem oil (Azadirachta Indica A. Juss) as raw material for the production of methyl esters / Estudo do potencial do óleo de Neem (Azadirachta Indica A. Juss) como matéria-prima para a produção de ésteres metílicos

• Autor(a) principal: Carvalho, Leonard
• Data de Publicação: 2020
• Outros Autores: Díaz, Gisel Chenard, Cruz, Yordanka Reyes, Gallardo, Enrique Venere, Viêgas, Carolina Vieira, Cardoso, Winny Rêgo, Muchave, Germildo Juvenal, Aranda, Donato Alexandre Gomes
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Revista Veras
• Texto Completo: https://ojs.brazilianjournals.com.br/ojs/index.php/BRJD/article/view/11637
• topic: Neem oil; Neem oil pre-treatment; Biodiesel.

More than 80% of the final cost of producing biodiesel in Brazil is due to the raw material. This aspect increases the interest in looking for new sources for this industry. In this scenario, Neem (Azadirachta Indica A. Juss), a high-yield oilseed (1,250 kg / ha.year), becomes an excellent source of raw material. This culture also brings together other attributes of interest to broad segments of Brazilian society, has bactericidal and insecticidal functions, recognized ease of growth in the field, its wood is economically overvalued, has the capacity to withstand extreme conditions of heat and water pollution, improves fertility soil and rehabilitate degraded land. In order to make the commercial use of Neem oil feasible, the present work was developed, whose main objective was to evaluate the potential of this oil as a raw material for the production of biodiesel. For that, we started with crude Neem oil, provided by Laboratório Biológico Farmacêutico SA (LABIOFAM) in the province of Holguín / Cuba, and a technological route was defined that allowed, starting with the inclusion of an oil pre-treatment step raw material prior to conventional transesterification, produce commercial quality biodiesel. Additionally, it was identified that this biodiesel needs an antioxidant additive to reach the quality specification, a behavior similar to soy biodiesel.