Evaluation of Jojoba Oil Biodiesel as a Potential Fuel for Combustion Application

Abstract

The demand for efficient energy systems is rising due to environmental issues and the decline of fossil fuels. Therefore, the studies are exploring the use of biofuels as an alternative fuel. The focus of this study is to produce biodiesel from jojoba oil and use it along with other fuels in internal combustion engines. The transesterification method was used for the production of biodiesel using methanol and a catalyst (sodium hydroxide), which yielded long-chain fatty acid methyl esters (C16–C20) and physicochemical properties were investigated. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance were used to analyze raw jojoba oil and biodiesel. Moreover, the ignition delay (ID) time and derived cetane number (DCN) were measured by an ignition quality tester (IQT). The density (870 kg m⁻³) and viscosity (4.21 mm² s⁻¹) of the biodiesel were comparable to ASTM D6751-24 requirements and were also closely aligned with US 2D petrodiesel quality. The IQT test demonstrated that biodiesel produced from jojoba oil has a higher DCN and shorter ID than US 2D petro-diesel. Thus, the overall results adequately illustrate the potential to use biodiesel as a sustainable energy application.