Extraction of fleshing oil from waste limed fleshings and biodiesel production

Abstract The aim of the study was focused on extraction of fleshing oil from limed fleshings with different neutralization process by ammonium chloride (NH 4 Cl) and hydrochloric acid (HCl) followed by solvent extraction. The production of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) from limed fleshing oil by two stage process has also been investigated. The central composite design (CCD) was used to study the effect of process variables viz., amount of flesh, particle size and time of fleshing oil extraction. The maximum yield of fleshing oil from limed fleshings post neutralization by ammonium chloride (NH 4 Cl) and hydrochloric acid (HCl) was 26.32 g and 12.43 g obtained at 200 g of flesh, with a particle size of 3.90 mm in the time period of 2 h. Gas chromatography analysis reveals that the biodiesel (FAME) obtained from limed fleshings is rich in oleic and palmitic acids with weight percentages 46.6 and 32.2 respectively. The resulting biodiesel was characterized for its physio-chemical properties of diesel as per international standards (EN14214).