DOI: 10.36347/sjet.2019.v07i09.001

Pages: 252-258

The fuel characteristics of waste vegetable cooking oil has been sourced locally from Ken Saro Giwa Polytechnics restaurants Bori Rivers State. The materials used involved thermometer, 50 ml flask, dropper blender, weighing scale, methanol 99% purity, funnel, phenolphthalein indicator, graduated pipette, potassium hydroxide of 85 % purity, sodium hydroxide, one litre high density polythene container, two-twenty litres capacity settling and separation containers and wasted vegetable oil (yellow grease). It was processed, acceded and tested for its fuel characteristics. The methods adopted were purification and heating to 100oC for about 45 minutes, titration to obtain free fatty acids, transesterification and preparation of potassium-methanoxide in 200 ml of methanol, separation that involved settling of glycerol in container for 24-hours. After that, it was washed and dried to obtain the oil (biodiesel), which was heated to about 110oC for about thirty minutes to evaporate off residual water from the washing process. The fuel characteristics of viscosity, cloud point, sulphur, copper corrosion, distillation, and densities were determined by Nigerian Petroleum Oil Refinery Eleme Rivers State. The effects of temperature on viscosity and density of the fuel were conducted at the department of chemistry while the calorific value was determined at the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Result of the cetane index number showed that all the methyl esters was higher than that of diesel. The viscosity dropped when the oil was heated in the Engine with increased in temperature from 7.72cST at 25oC and varied from 4.546 cST for soy methyl ester to 5.62 cST for Low FFA yellow grease. The biodiesel had a cloud point of 14oC, meaning that the fuel should not be used in areas where the local temperatures falls below 14oC .....................