Lipid source or feedstock for production of biodiesel can be categorized into two major groups which are edible oil/fats and nonedible oils. Edible oils include palm oil, corn oil, soybean oil, and olive oil. Among those oils, demand for palm oil is the highest in Asian region especially in Malaysia not only as a source of cooking oil but also for biodiesel production. Malaysia is one of the largest producers and exporters of palm oil in the world, accounting for 11% of the world’s oils and fats production and 27% of export trade of oils and fats. The oil palm is tropical peren­nial plant and grows well in lowland with humid places, and therefore, it can be cultivated easily in Malaysia (Ong et al. 2011). Oil palm tree will start bearing fruits after 30 months of field planting and will continue to be productive for the next 20-30 years of its life span of 200 years (Ong et al. 2011). Thus, this will ensure a consistent supply of feedstock for production of biodiesel especially in this region.

Not only palm oil is used in its original form but also the waste cooking oil (espe­cially palm oil) could be used as source lipid for biodiesel production. Waste cooking palm oil from restaurants and household is inexpensive compared with crude palm oil. By utilizing waste oil, it is a promising alternative for biodiesel production and avoiding the competition of palm oil for food consumption. Furthermore, the produc­tion of biodiesel from waste cooking palm oil is one of the better ways to utilize it efficiently and would partly decrease the dependency on petroleum-based fuel. In addition, waste cooking palm oil can be disposed safely and recycled to be an energy source that is useful to human beings. Without a proper disposal method, waste oil may contaminate environmental water. The production of biodiesel from waste cook­ing palm oil is one of the better ways to help reduce the environmental problem.

The second group of oil that can be used as lipid source for biodiesel production is nonedible oils. There are many examples of nonedible oil such as jatropha, cot­tonseed, and castor oil. The use of nonedible vegetable oils is of significance because of the great need for edible oil as food. The advantage of nonedible vegetable oil is that the production cost of biodiesel could be reduced caused by higher cost of edible vegetable oils (No 2011). An oil extracted from Cerbera odollam (sea mango), which is less expensive and known as nonedible oil, is a promising alterna­tive to vegetable oil for biodiesel production. Cerbera odollam, commonly known as the suicide tree, pong-pong, and othalanga, is a species of tree native to India and other parts of Southern Asia. The fruit, when still green, looks like a small mango, with a green fibrous shell enclosing an oval kernel measuring ~2 cm x 1.5 cm and consisting of two cross-matching white fleshy halves. Figure 8.1a, b shows the fresh Cerbera odollam fruit, while Fig. 8.1c shows the dry Cerbera odollam fruit. Cerbera odollam seed is shown in Fig. 8.1d. Upon exposure to air, the white kernel turns violet, then dark gray, and ultimately brown or black. The plant as a whole yields a milky white latex (Chopra et al. 1956).

This cheap feedstock is therefore expected to help the biodiesel to be competi­tive in price as compared to the use of raw materials from food-grade vegetable oils. The production of biodiesel fuel from Cerbera odollam oil is considered an impor­tant step for reducing the use of edible vegetable oil. Based on the extraction

process, the oil extracted from C. odollam seeds was 54%. This value is comparable to those of palm oil which stands at 45-50%, indicating that it can be a promising source of oil for biodiesel production. The fatty acid composition of C. odollam oil is mainly oleic (45.3%), followed by palmitic (24.7%), linoleic (19.3%), and stearic (8%). This composition is similar to those of palm oil, only without myristic acid. Table 8.3 lists lipid’s source by categories for biodiesel production using enzymatic reactions.