Biodiesel is the most promising renewable alternative fuel for fossil diesel fuel, which can be produced even in rural settings of an economically backward sector of developing countries. Biodiesel can be produced from non-edible seed oils or used edible oil sources by a transesterification reaction. Biodiesel feedstock differ according to geographic location, therefore, it is essential to optimise the biodiesel production process at least in pilot scale for each source to obtain highest biodiesel yield to be used for domestic purpose. In the present study, biodiesel was produced from non-edible Pongamia seed oil and Waste Cooking Oil separately using the 50 L capacity pilot scale reactor. The crucial reaction parameters such as catalyst (NaOH) concentration, alcohol (Methanol) volume and reaction time were optimised through Box-Behnken Design (BBD) approach to maximise the biodiesel yield. In the optimised pilot study, the biodiesel yield of 89.1% from Pongamia oil and 96% from Waste Cooking Oil sources were obtained. Also, the biodiesels produced by pilot scale met the requisite quality standards of ASTM, EU and India
