Kapok seed oil extracted from seeds of Ceiba pentandra naturally grows in tropical regions. It has been gaining attention for being used as a sustainable, non-food feedstock for the production of biodiesel. However, the quality of kapok seed oil is strongly influenced by the altitudinal variations. To address this, the present experimental investigation explores the impact of three different altitudes on the chemical composition, antioxidant characteristics, and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) and also assesses its potential as an environmentally friendly biodiesel source. Seeds from three different altitudes were collected, and two-step transesterification was employed to produce kapok oil methyl ester (KOME). Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) was performed to quantify the profile of FAME and aliphatics. The GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of FAMEs. In which, methyl oleate increased from 21.84 ± 0.23% to 36.94 ± 0.25, and methyl stearate increased from 2.80 ± 0.05% to 5.97 ± 0.13%, showing substantial positive relationships with increasing altitude. The oil extraction efficiency was increased from 92.26% ±0.49% to 98.32 ± 0.51% at high elevation. Additionally, oxygenated sesquiterpene showed a minor increase with altitude because it increased from 1.12% to 1.46%, which resulted in improved radical scavenging abilities. Further, the antioxidant capacity improved with increasing altitude according to the DPPH and ABTS IC₅₀ values, which decreased from 212.33 ± 2.52 µg/mL to 188.67 ± 1.53 µg/mL and 228.33 ± 2.52 µg/mL to 199.00 ± 2.00 µg/mL, thus demonstrating an 11% − 12% boost in radical scavenging capabilities. The one-way ANOVA method identified major FAMEs and antioxidant indices that differed significantly among altitudes (p < 0.05). The higher monounsaturated fatty acid content and improved oxidative stability at higher altitude indicated superior biodiesel characteristics. Hence, altitude is an important environmental factor in influencing the quality and biodiesel potential of kapok oil.
Selvam et al. (Wed,) studied this question.