An evaluation of Moringa peregrina seeds as a source for bio-fuel

Moringa peregrina leaves and pods are known for their medicinal and nutritional values. In this paper, M. peregrina seeds had been investigated for the first time as a potential source for bio-fuel. Physical characterization revealed that M. peregrina seed is composed of about 59% kernel and 41% husk. The kernel was found to contain about 38% of oil. Higher heating values of 18.21, 20.65 and 39.99MJ/kg were obtained for M. peregrina seed husk, M. peregrina seed oil cake and M. peregrina seed oil respectively. Thermochemical characteristics and thermal behavior of M. peregrina seed husk and M. peregrina seed oil cake in an inert atmosphere of N₂ were studied. The initial results showed that M. peregrina seed husk and M. peregrina seed oil cake could potentially produce energy through thermochemical conversion processes. Low iodine value (67.73gI₂/100g oil) and high saponification value (187.53mgKOH/g oil) were reported for M. peregrina seed oil. Thus, a high cetane number (60.16) was reported for M. peregrina seed-oil-based biodiesel. M. peregrina seed oil was found to contain very low free fatty acids (0.35%), rendering its conversion into biodiesel possible in one step by alkaline catalyst. A high fraction of unsaturated fatty acids was observed in M. peregrina seed oil (81.24%) while 76.92% of M. peregrina seed oil was contributed by monounsaturated fatty acids with oleic acid as the major component (72.19%). Therefore, high thermo-oxidative stability was observed in M. peregrina seed oil. However, its significant fraction of long-chain fatty acids (C20:0+C20:1+C22:0) (6.76%) may affect the cold flow properties of the derived biodiesel. We concluded from this study that M. peregrina is a potential source for both bio-fuel and food.