Rubber seed oil: A potential renewable source of biodiesel for sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa

The global energy demand is currently met by the use of non-renewable fossil fuels. The challenges of non-availability of these fuels in the future, instability in prices of crude oil and its negative environmental impacts, stimulated researchers in the global community in search of renewable energies for replacement of fossil fuels in future. Biodiesel has been identified as a good complement and plausible replacement of fossil diesel because of the overwhelming characteristic properties similar to fossil diesel in addition to its good lubricity, biodegradability, non-toxicity and eco-friendliness when used in diesel engines. The production of biodiesel from edible vegetable oils competes with food consumption and consequently high cost of food and biodiesel. Studies have shown that rubber seed contains 35–45wt.% oil which portrays a better competitor to other non-edible oil bearing plants in biodiesel production. Biodiesel produced from non-edible rubber seed oil (RSO) is an attractive option for the sustainable development of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries that depend heavily on fossil diesel. The application of abundant plantain (Musa paradisiacal) peels considered as waste in SSA countries as heterogeneous base catalyst in RSO biodiesel production will further reduce the cost of biodiesel. Rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis) are grown domestically in large plantations solely for latex production in most tropical SSA countries and the seeds fall out as waste to the ground either to germinate or are collected and discarded annually. However, SSA countries have an estimated combined capacity of 717,750ha of rubber trees equivalent to 251 million trees that can generate on annual basis, about 107,662.5ton of rubber seed, 17,947.339ton of rubber seed oil and an equivalent 16,691.025ton of biodiesel. The cultivation of natural rubber trees will sustain the production of rubber products from latex and seed oils for biodiesel which would create additional financial benefits to the plantation farmers and reinvigorates the economies of the local communities in SSA countries.