What is it about?

Ten tropical plants with non-edible oil-bearing seeds have been studied and evaluated for its potential as a recommended biodiesel feedstock. The evaluation was made based on seven criteria; seed oil yield, free fatty acid (FFA) content, cold filter plugging point, oxidation stability, oil yield, easiness to grow in marginal land and availability in tropical areas.

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Why is it important?

A priority estimation model known as Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) has been utilized in this study to determine the priority values of various non-edible plant oils that could be used as a biodiesel feedstock, particularly in the South-East-Asian region. Due the massive amount of data available on various tropical plant oils, the AHP methodology could be helpful in assessing relevant criteria critically and logically to help policy maker or industrial player make a sensible decision. The tropical plant oils being studied are also non-edible ones, solving the "Food vs Fuel" dilemma.

Perspectives

Although all the selected non-edible oil producing plants have the potential to be used as a biodiesel feedstock, nyamplung (Calophyllum inophyllum) which showed the highest criteria weightage at 0.180 is the most feasible one and can be emphasized to be used as a suitable feedstock for biodiesel in the South-East Asian region. The results of the study could be useful to select non-edible plants to be developed in order to support the implementation of the government policy regarding biodiesel development. Moreover, findings from this study could aid decision making in the biodiesel industry to select best non-edible plant oil feedstock for biodiesel production.

Zul Ilham
University of Malaya

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This page is a summary of: Quantitative priority estimation model for evaluation of various non-edible plant oils as potential biodiesel feedstock, AIMS Agriculture and Food, January 2019, American Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS),
DOI: 10.3934/agrfood.2019.2.303.
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