_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Corresponding author: Email: arnold.mulula@unikin.ac.cd; Asian Journal of Applied Chemistry Research 11(4): 15-24, 2022; Article no.AJACR.86908 ISSN: 2582-0273 Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Analysis of Fatty Acid Methyl Ester from Congolese Non-Edible Afzelia bella Seeds Oil A. Mulula a* , Thierno N. Manoka b , E. B. Bayindu c and A. D. Bouzina d a Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Kinshasa, BP 190, Kinshasa XI, Congo. b Department of Engineering, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Lorraine, BP 70239, France. c Department de Raffinage et Pétrochimie, Faculty de Pétrole et Gaz, Université de Kinshasa, BP 127, Kinshasa XI, Congo. d Department of Botany, Faculty of Sciences, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt. Authors’ contributions This work was carried out in collaboration among all authors. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Article Information DOI: 10.9734/AJACR/2022/v11i430262 Open Peer Review History: This journal follows the Advanced Open Peer Review policy. Identity of the Reviewers, Editor(s) and additional Reviewers, peer review comments, different versions of the manuscript, comments of the editors, etc are available here: https://www.sdiarticle5.com/review-history/86908 Received 05 March 2022 Accepted 09 May 2022 Published 01 September 2022 ABSTRACT As the oils used for biodiesel production face food competition, many scientific research is now focusing on the upgrading of non-conventional oils, which are not edibles. This study consisted in revalorizing of Congolese nonedible Afzelia bella seeds oil as raw materials for the biodiesel production. Afzelia bella seeds oil was extracted with oil yield of 26.38±0.22% and subsequently transesterified by alkali-catalyst using methanol with KOH as catalyst. The maximum yield of the obtained Diacetylenic Light Fuel Oil was 96.53% and FTIR spectroscopy showed the presence of fatty acid methyl esters in the produced biodiesel. The FTIR spectrum of Diacetylenic Light Fuel Oil revealed the following characteristics functional groups: Carbonyl group stretching (C=O), Methyl asymmetric bending (CH 3 ) and Methoxy group stretching (O-CH 3 ) with the peaks at 1743.94, 1436.11 and 1197.38 cm -1 , respectively. Physicochemical properties (Kinematic viscosity, density, flash point, Cetane number, cloud point, pour point, water contents, ash and sulfur contents) values of Biodiesel (B100), and biodiesel blend in Gasoil (B50 and B20), were within the range of values set by the international standards specifications of diesel and biodiesel (American Society Original Research Article