ARS | Publication request: Biodiesel from salt-tolerant seashore mallow (Kosteletzkya virginica)

Submitted to: Annual Meeting and Expo of the American Oil Chemists' Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: November 7, 2011
Publication Date: April 29, 2012
Citation: Moser, B.R., Dien, B.S., Gallagher, J.L. 2012. Biodiesel from salt-tolerant seashore mallow (Kosteletzkya virginica). Annual Meeting and Expo of the American Oil Chemists' Society. p. IOP 5.

Technical Abstract: Seashore mallow (Kosteletzkya virginica) is a halophytic perennial dicot that produces up to 1500 kg of seeds (22% oil) per hectare and is tolerant of saline soils and brackish water. FAMEs were prepared in high yield by transesterification of hexane-extracted seashore mallow seed oil. The crude oil was initially treated with catalytic sulfuric acid and methanol to lower its acid value from 2.72 to 0.08 mg KOH/g, thus rendering it amenable to sodium methoxide-catalyzed methanolysis. The principal components identified in seashore mallow oil methyl esters (SMME) were methyl linoleate (48.9%), methyl palmitate (24.4%), and methyl oleate (18.3%). The fuel properties of SMME were within the specifications listed in ASTM D6751 and EN 14214 with the exception of oxidative stability, which was improved upon addition of 1000 ppm BHT. Of note was the high cetane number (59.9) of SMME along with its low iodine value (111 g I2/100 g), which both represent advantages over FAMEs prepared from soybean oil. The properties of SMME blended with petrodiesel were within the ranges specified in the petrodiesel standards after the addition of BHT. In summary, seashore mallow is a promising feedstock for coastal areas that are not otherwise suitable for agricultural production.