Comparison of Various Feedstocks for the Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Biodiesel

The microwave-assisted acid catalyzed synthesis of biodiesel from various feedstocks are reported. The feedstocks consist of vegetable, canola, olive, avocado, corn, cottonseed and soybean oils and also were compared to a commercial biodiesel sample that was prepared from a mixture of varying oils by GC-MS. All oils gave biodiesel in excellent yields (<85%). Combustion analysis gave heats of combustion between 40.75 to 43.45 kJ/g, similar to literature values