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ABSTRACT
The continuous increasing demand for energy and the decrease in petroleum reserves has led to the search for alternative fuels which are renewable and sustainable. Biodiesel a renewable fuel has proven to be more useful in combustion engine than the petro-diesel because of its biodegradability and smoother combustibility. Transestrification of waste cooking oil to biodiesel was carried out with methanol to oil molar ratio of 8:1 using activated carbon from coconut shell as catalyst. The temperature of the reaction was varied. The total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) of the biodiesel produced were determined at reaction temperatures of 400C, 500C and 600C,while biodiesel properties produced at 400C, 450C, 500C, 550C and 600C were also determined. The concentrations of total petroleum hydrocarbon for biodiesel at of 400C, 500C and 600C were 1652.65, 9629.803 and 9608.752 respectively. Total petroleum hydrocarbon explains the nature of the oil used in the transesterification and hence the quality of the biodiesel produced. Higher temperature of above 500C do not favor the presence of some hydrocarbon in the fuel produced. The properties of the biodiesel produced conform to ASTMD 6751.
