Analysis of methyl compounds variation in the crude Pongamia pinnata oil from Banten, West Java and North Java populations

Identification of methyl compounds from crude oil is an important baseline provenance to support the development of renewable bioenergy resources in Indonesia. Pongamia pinnata, known as Malapari, has great potential to be an alternative to renewable bioenergy resources and an environmentally friendly substitute for fossil fuels. Our analysis of four provenances of crude Pongamia oil has identified eight (8) methyl compounds with a relative value of >1%, i.e. palmitoleate, lenoleate, eicostrienoic, erucate, docosadienoic, nervonate, eicosapentaenoate and arachidate. The value of the individual methyl compounds varied in each provenance. The unsaturated fatty acid content of Pongamia crude was higher and needs to be balanced to maintain the physical properties of Pongamia biodiesel. In addition, the quality of the tested Pongamia crude oil from all provenances that show high acidity and water content in the crude oil but exceed the standard for biodiesel (SNI 04-7182-2006) shows a need for improvement advanced process. The variations of the methyl compounds found in each provenance can be used as a selection basis for the development of products in the pharmaceutical and agricultural sectors.