IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 https://doi.org/10.15623/ijret.2018.0705010 Received: 05-03-2018, Accepted: 16-04-2018, Published: 07-05-2018 _______________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 07 Issue: 05 | May-2018, Available @ www.ijret.org 57 ASSESSMENT OF THE POTENTIAL EMISSIONSFROM BIODIESEL PRODUCED FROM GROUNDNUT AND SOYBEAN OILS Ayoola Ayodeji 1 , Babalola Rasheed 2 , Odunlami Olayemi 3 , Adeeyo Opeyemi 4 , Ajibola Abosede 5 , Nnachortam Kingsley 6 1 Chemical Engineering Department, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria 2 Chemical/Petrochemical Engineering Department, AkwaIbom State University, Nigeria 3 Chemical Engineering Department, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria 4 Chemical Engineering Department, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria 5 Chemical Engineering Department, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria 6 Chemical Engineering Department, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria Abstract Biodiesel an alternative fuel to fossil fuel) does not only require production at commercial level, but the production process also needs to be a clean and environmental friendly. This research aim at assessing the potential emissions form the biodiesel produced from the trans-esterification of groundnut oil and soybean oil, using KOH homogenous catalyst. The impact assessment of the potential emissions wasanalysed, quantified and characterized using Simapro 8.2.3.0. Comparatively, soybean biodiesel produced higher yield of biodiesel compare to yield obtained from groundnut oil biodiesel, under same experimental conditions. Also, high yields of biodiesel observed (97.1 % using both soybean oil and 92.1 % using groundnut oil) were at experimental conditions of 52.5 o C and catalyst concentration 0.9 wt/wt%, at constant methanol/oil mole ratio of 6 and reaction time of 1 hour. The impact assessment of the emissions from the biodiesels obtained from the two oils revealed that groundnut oil biodiesel has the potential to release more fresh water toxic substances, terrestrial toxic substances and human toxic substances. Keywords: - Biodiesel, Groundnut oil, Impact Analysis, Soybean oil, Trans-esterification. ------------------------------------------------------------------***----------------------------------------------------------------- 1. INTRODUCTION Energy is considered a basic need (like food, shelter and clothing) of human life, industry and transportation. It is now a very difficult task to have good food, shelter and clothing without Energy. Globalization, economic growth, living standard improvement and electrification have pushed energy demand up in all sectors. Hence its production, consumption and management have become of a global interest[1]-[3]. Statistics show that fossil fuel is the primary source of energy across the globe. The increasing challenges associated with the dependency on fossil fuel (such as fluctuating market price at the global market, fuel sustainability and environmental degradation) prompted the world leaders, organisations, industries and educational institutions to look for alternative energy sources that are sustainable, with less negative environmental impact. Energy production from biomass such as crop oils, woody and waste materials has a great advantage over fossil fuel [3]-[7]. The energy producing substances derived from biomass are referred to as biofuels (such as biodiesel, bioethanol). Biodiesel is commonly produced through transesterification process. This is a process which involves reversible reaction between lipids (triglycerides of vegetable oils or animal fats) and short chain alcohol (methanol or ethanol) in the presence of a suitable catalyst [8]-[10].Some of the factors that affect the yield of biodiesel include reaction time, reaction temperature, catalyst concentration, methanol/oil mole ratio, speed of agitation etc. [11]-[12]. Non-edible and edible vegetable oils (such as soybean oil, palm oil and groundnut oil) can be used for biodiesel production, and the fuel produced (biodiesel) can be introduced directly into diesel engine without engine modification. It also prolongs the life of diesel engine and this reduces the need for frequent maintenance [13]-[15]. While the production technology of biodiesel remains an easily adaptable one for even rural dwellers who have no access to advanced technology, the production of high quality biodiesel is an uncompromised scientific process that requires thorough analyses of the feedstocks, chemical reagents and production process. The analyses are important in order to understand the environmental implications and benefits associated with the biodiesel as biofuel. And these analyses include potential emission assessment of biodiesel [17]-[19]. The potential emission assessment of biodiesel involves the use of analytical tool with a scientific approach in predicting, quantifying and comparing the environmental