Low-temperature Properties of Biodiesel:Rheological Behavior and Crystallization Morphology

A soybean oil derived biodiesel was prepared and blended with a conventional No. 0 petrodiesel. The pour points （PP） and the cold filter plugging points （CFPP） of biodiesel blends were evaluated on a low-temperature flow tester. Dynamic viscosities of the blends at different temperatures and different shear rates were measured on a rotary rheometer. The crystal morphologies of biodiesel blends at low temperatures were analyzed using a polarizing microscope. The results indicated that blended fuels demonstrated slight decrease in PPs and CFPPs as compared with those of neat soybean oil derived biodiesel and pure petrodiesel. Below the temperatures of PPs or CFPPs, the dynamic viscosity of biodiesel blends dramatically increased with a decreasing temperature, but decreased with an increasing shear rate, so that biodiesel blends exhibited non-Newtonian behavior. At temperatures higher than PPs or CFPPs, a linear relationship appeared between the dynamic viscosity and shear rate and biodiesel blends became Newtonian fluids. At low temperatures, wax crystals of biodiesel blends grew and agglomerated rapidly. Loss of fluidity for biodiesel blends at low temperatures could therefore be attributed on one hand to the sharp increase of viscosity and on the other hand to the rapid growth and agglomeration of wax crystals.

Improving cold flow properties of palm fatty acid distillate biodiesel through vacuum distillation

Palm fatty acid distillate(PFAD),a by-product of refining process of crude palm oil can be used as a potential feedstock for biodiesel production.However,the application of palm oil-based biodiesel is often hinder by its poor cold flow properties(CFP).Biodiesel fuel with poor CFP may crystallize and result in clogging of fuel lines,filters and injectors that cause engine operability problems.For that,a vacuum distillation method was designed and its feasibility and efficiency in improving the CFP was examined.A total of 13.60wt%of total saturated fatty acid methyl esters were successfully removed from the PFAD biodiesel,resulting in the improvement of the cloud point(CP),cold filter plugging point(CFPP)and pour point(PP)of PFAD biodiesel from 20℃,19℃,and 15℃to 13℃,11℃,and 9℃,respectively.It is remarkable that the improved CFPP satisfied the requirements for grade C summer biodiesel for temperate climates in EN 14212 standard.Additionally,Sarin(U FAME)empirical correlation was evaluated and it was found to have a good prediction of CFP for PFAD biodiesel,with lower than 2℃deviation.

Effect of nanocomposite as pour point depressant on the cold flow properties and crystallization behavior of diesel fuel

The high effective nano-hybrid pour point depressant(PPD)has attracted extensive attention for its po-tential application in improving the cold flow properties of diesel fuel.In this paper,the nano-hybrid PPD was prepared by melt-blending method using three different alkyl chain lengths(i.e.,tetradecyl,hexade-cyl,and octodecyl)of n-alkyl methacrylate-maleic anhydride copolymers(R 1 MC-MA,R 1=C_(14),C_(16),C_(18))and SiO_(2)nanoparticles.The effect of those nano-hybrid PPDs on the cold filter plugging point(CFPP)and solidifying point(SP)depressing of diesel fuel were studied.Results indicated that nano-hybrid PPD showed much better performance on diesel fuel.The diesel fuel treated with 0.2 wt%C_(14)MC-MA/SiO_(2)nano-hybrid PPD exhibited the best depression in CFPP and SP by 6℃ and 18℃,respectively,which higher than that of single C 14 MC-MA.Viscosity-temperature curves and polarized optical microscopy were conducted to explore the performance mechanism;and results presented that nano-hybrid PPD of C_(14)MC-MA/SiO_(2)could effectively lower the low-temperature viscosity,and modify the crystallization behavior and crystal morphology of diesel.Therefore,the cold flow properties of diesel were significantly improved.

An experimental study of diesel fuel cloud and pour point reduction using different additives

An experimental study was conducted to investigate the effects of four different additives on pour point and cloud point temperatures of a diesel fuel.Sample mixtures were prepared in different volumetric percentages of four different additives(Ethanol,Toluene,n-Heptane and Xylene)and diesel fuel mixture.Pour point and cloud point temperatures of the blends were measured using standard ASTM D2500 and ASTM D97-96a methods,respectively.Introducing the additives to the diesel fuel did not lead to a significant reduction in cloud point temperature of the fuel.In fact,the greatest obtained reduction in cloud point temperature was achieved using 20 vol%or more of Toluene-diesel fuel mixtures.Although cloud points did not change significantly,even the slightest amounts of additives caused a high reduction in the pour point temperature of the fuel.Ethanol was the most effective additive in lowering the pour point temperature of the fuel.A 20%ethanol-fuel mixture caused nearly a 30
reduction in the fuel pour point temperature.Therefore,knowing that none of the additives has a significant effect on cloud point temperature,while the greatest reduction in pour point temperature is achieved using ethanol even in low Vol%s,it can be concluded that the most efficient additive among these four additives to alter cold flow properties of a certain diesel fuel is Ethanol.