Biodiesel production from waste fish oil with high free fatty acid content from Moroccan fish-processing industries

Abstract Moroccan waste fish oil was used as raw material to produce the biodiesel in this study. The biodiesel sample is achieved by a dual step esterification-transesterification acid-base to reduce the higher FFAs content of fish oil after a rapid method of purification. It is characterized by techniques such as Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and the Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS). The experimental results showed that biodiesel produced from waste fish oil contained a significantly greater amount of methyl ester group in the biodiesel sample. The GC/MS results showed the presence of a good quantity of palmitic acid, oleic acid and linolenic acid which are essential biodiesel components. The biodiesel did not contain any trace of glycerol and it did meet international standards.