Renewable energy is a cornerstone in the harnessing of eco‐friendly systems that offer economical and efficient alternatives to nonrenewable energy. Today, alternative forms of energy are being implemented to lower the emissions of pollutants from different petroleum engines. The specific aims of this study are to develop the highest Aloe weloensis oil (AWO) yield by employing the Box–Behnken Design (BBD) approach and characterize its properties. Crude oil was prepared by Soxhlet extraction of Aloe weloensis leaf oil with hexane as the solvent (yielding 23.6% oil). The effect of the AWP–solvent ratio, extraction time, and extraction temperature on the oil yield was studied. For the maximization of AWO, statistical analyses were performed by Design‐Expert software using BBD response surface methodology (RSM) via the BBD method. The BBD model estimated an optimum oil yield of 24.323% at the AWP–solvent ratio of 0.08 g mL −1 , an extraction temperature of 68°C, and an extraction time of 2.832 h. Furthermore, the functional groups and chemical structures of AWO were characterized by an FTIR spectrometer. The oil has a density of 0.9 g cm −3 , a viscosity of 0.35 mm 2 /s (cSt), and a moisture content of 0.043% (wt%). In FTIR spectra of the midrange spectral results, key functional groups used for biofuel production were detected, including aldehydes, alkanes, alcohols, alkenes, alkyls, and phenols, as well as esters and aromatic compounds without absorbance at 3363.48–444.94 cm −1 . The presence of these chemical constituents indicates that the oil is a promising source for biofuel production.
Amin et al. (Thu,) studied this question.