Assessment of acacia –hockii mimosaceae (kasaana) as a potential biofuel source

Abstract

Continuous utilization of fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and petroleum as energy sources has impacted negatively on climate change due to high carbon dioxide emissions. Also, fossil fuels are non-renewable energy sources and are getting depleted due to increased urbanization and population hence a need for alternative sustainable sources of energy. Biofuels from biomass have been identified as promising alternatives.In this study,Acacia Hockii feed stocks were assessed to identify its suitabilityas a potential biofuel source. Oil was extracted from acacia hockiistemsusing Soxhletextractor and its physiochemical properties were determined. IV,SV,AV and RI were found to be 96.79 g I2 /100g of Oil, 188.57 mg KOH/g of oil, 6.24mg KOH/g of oil and 1.3395. The obtained values werein line with values of the common oils used for biodiesel production, thus the oil was recommended for further processing to obtain biodiesel since the properties of the oil don’t differ greatly from the biodiesel.