Transesterification and Epoxidation of Oil Extracts from Selected Plants for Use as Bio-transformer Oil

Transesterification and Epoxidation of oils extracted from seeds of five different plants, namely, Jatropha, Moringa, Castor, Cotton and Shea was carried out using standard methods and characterized using American Society for Testing Material (ASTM) standard tests. The oils were tested on both low and high- medium voltage transformer and the result showed that their dielectric strength ranges from 25 – 43 KV, while the free fatty acids were found to be within the range of 0.01 – 0.008 mg KOH. These results are within the range of ASTM standards and that the oil samples have potentials to serve as bio-transformer oils.