Effect of temperature and pressure on the speed of sound and isentropic bulk modulus of mixtures of biodiesel and diesel fuel

The density and speed of sound of blends of biodiesel with No. 2 and No. 1 diesel fuels were measured from atmospheric pressure to 32.46 MPa at temperatures of 20 and 40°C. The isentropic bulk modulus was calculated from these quantities. The results show that the density and isentropic bulk modulus can be accurately modeled as having a linear variation with blend percentage. Speed of sound is better correlated by a second-order equation. Correlation equations are given and a blending rule is developed that allows the density, speed of sound, and isentropic bulk modulus of blends to be calculated from the properties of the biodiesel and diesel fuel.     

The speed of sound and isentropic bulk modulus of biodiesel at 21°C from atmospheric pressure to 35 MPa

Biodiesel, an alternative diesel fuel consisting of the alkyl monoesters of fatty acids from vegetable oils and animal fats, can be used in existing diesel engines without modification. However, property changes associated with the differences in chemical structure between biodiesel and petroleumbased diesel fuel may change the engine's injection timing. These injection timing changes can change the exhaust emissions and performance from the optimized settings chosen by the engine manufacturer. This study presents the results of measurements of the speed of sound and the isentropic bulk modulus for methyl and ethyl esters of fatty acids from soybean oil and compares them with No. 1 and No. 2 diesel fuel. Data are presented at 21±1°C and for pressures from atmospheric to 34.74 MPa. The results indicate that the speed of sound and bulk modulus of the monoesters of soybean oil are higher than those for diesel fuel and these can cause changes in the fuel injection timing of diesel engines. Linear equations were used to fit the data as a function of pressure, and the correlation constants are given.     

The production of fatty acid isopropyl esters and their use as a diesel engine fuel

Biodiesel is an alternative fuel for diesel engines that consists of the monoalkyl esters of vegetable oils or animal fats. Currently, most biodiesel consists of methyl esters, which have poor cold-flow properties. Methyl esters of soybean oil will crystallize and plug fuel filters and lines at about 0°C. However, isopropyl esters have better cold-flow properties than methyl esters. This paper describes the production of isopropyl esters and their evaluation in a diesel engine. The effects of the alcohol amount, the catalyst amount, and two different catalysts on producing quality biodiesel were studied. Both sodium isopropoxide and potassium isopropoxide were found to be suitable for use in the transesterification process. A 20∶1 alcohol/TG molar ratio and a catalyst amount equal to 1% by weight (based on the TG amount) of sodium metal was the most cost-effective way to produce biodiesel fuel. The emissions from a diesel engine running on isopropyl esters made from soybean oil and yellow grease were investigated by comparing them with No. 2 diesel fuel and methyl esters. For nitrogen oxide emission, the difference between the biodiesel produced from soybean oil and yellow grease was greater than the difference between the methyl and isopropyl esters of both feedstocks. The other emissions from using isopropyl esters were about 50% lower in hydrocarbons, 10–20% lower in carbon monoxide, and 40% lower in smoke number when compared with No. 2 diesel fuel.     

Dependence of biodiesel fuel properties on the structure of fatty acid alkyl esters

Biodiesel, defined as the mono-alkyl esters of vegetable oils or animal fats, is an “alternative” diesel fuel that is becoming accepted in a steadily growing number of countries around the world. Since the source of biodiesel varies with the location and other sources such as recycled oils are continuously gaining interest, it is important to possess data on how the various fatty acid profiles of the different sources can influence biodiesel fuel properties. The properties of the various individual fatty esters that comprise biodiesel determine the overall fuel properties of the biodiesel fuel. In turn, the properties of the various fatty esters are determined by the structural features of the fatty acid and the alcohol moieties that comprise a fatty ester. Structural features that influence the physical and fuel properties of a fatty ester molecule are chain length, degree of unsaturation, and branching of the chain. Important fuel properties of biodiesel that are influenced by the fatty acid profile and, in turn, by the structural features of the various fatty esters are cetane number and ultimately exhaust emissions, heat of combustion, cold flow, oxidative stability, viscosity, and lubricity.     

The effect of temperature and pressure on the physicochemical properties of petroleum diesel oil and biodiesel fuel

Three commercial fuels were studied: biodiesel (based mainly of the fatty acids methyl esters of rapeseed oil), diesel oil Ekodiesel Ultra (standard petroleum diesel oil with sulphur content less than 10 mg/kg), and ON BIO 10 (blend of 20 vol.% of biodiesel with 80 vol.% of standard petroleum diesel oil with sulphur content less than 10 mg/kg). The speeds of sound were measured within the temperatures from 293 to 318 K and at pressures from 0.1 to 101 MPa. The densities and heat capacities were measured under atmospheric pressure in the temperature range from 273 to 363 K and 283 to 359 K, respectively. Using the experimental results, the physicochemical properties such as: density, isentropic bulk modulus, heat capacity, and isobaric thermal expansion were calculated in the same temperature and pressure range as the speed of sound was measured. The results obtained show that although the bulk modulus of ON BIO 10 is higher than that of diesel oil Ekodiesel Ultra over the whole pressure range, the difference is rather small and can be compensated by temperature. Isobaric thermal expansivity of biodiesel decreases with pressure slightly less than that of the diesel oil Ekodiesel Ultra. It is approximately independent of temperature and composition of the fuel at pressures 40 ± 5 MPa.     

Predicting cetane number,kinematic viscosity,density and higher heating value of biodiesel from its fatty acid methyl ester composition

Biodiesel is a renewable bio-fuel derived from natural fats or vegetable oils, and it is considered as a promising alternative to substitute diesel fuels. Cetane number, viscosity, density, and higher heating value are important properties to affect the utilization of biodiesel fuels, because they are involved in the definition of fuel quality and are required as input data for predictive engine combustion models. This work presents the characterization of two biodiesel samples made from beef tallow and soybean oil through their fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) profile. Empirical equations were developed to estimate four physical properties of methyl esters; and an average absolute deviation (AAD) of 5.95%, 2.57%, 0.11% and 0.21% for the cetane number, kinematic viscosity, density, and higher heating value were founded. Cetane number, viscosity, and higher heating value increases because of the increase of molecular weight and these physical properties decrease as the number of double bonds increases. Unlike that of above properties, density decreases as molecular weight increases and density increases as the degree of unsaturation increases. Two general mixing rules and five biodiesel samples were used to study the influence of FAMEs over the physical properties of biodiesel. The prediction of the cetane number, kinematic viscosity, density and higher heating value of biodiesel is very close to the experimental values.     

Determining the blend level of mixtures of biodiesel with conventional diesel fuel by fiber-optic near-infrared spectroscopy and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Biodiesel, defined as the alkyl esters (usually methyl esters) of vegetable oils, is miscible with conventional diesel fuel at all blend levels. Until the present time, no rapid and reliable analytical method has existed for determining the blend level of biodiesel in conventional diesel fuel. In the present work, near-infrared (NIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopies were used to determine the blend level of biodiesel in conventional diesel fuel. Several regions in the NIR region (around 6005 cm⁻¹ and 4800–4600 cm⁻¹) are suitable for this purpose. The method is rapid and easy to use, and does not require any hardware changes when using the same instrument for monitoring the biodiesel-producing transesterification reaction and determining biodiesel fuel quality. In ¹H NMR spectroscopy, the integration values of the peaks of the methyl ester moiety and the aliphatic hydrocarbon protons in biodiesel and conventional diesel fuel were used for determining blend levels. The results of NIR and NMR blend level determinations are in good agreement.     

Design and improvement of biodiesel fuels blends by optimization of their molecular structures and compositions

Biodiesel is a renewable alternative to petroleum-based diesel fuel that could potentially still prove to be substantially more environmentally friendly than their fossil alternatives. It is obtained by a transesterification reaction from any triglyceride material (edible and non-edible oils, animal fats, lipid algae, etc.) being a potential tool for sustainable development. Its properties as fuel are strongly linked to the molecular structure of its species composition: profile, chemical structure and quantity of fatty acids alkyl esters contained. Hence the manipulation of this composition could lead to improve different kinds of fuel properties. In this work we implement a group contribution approach of the Statistical Associating Fluid Theory, named SAFT-γ to describe the molecular structure of each fatty ester and to evaluate the influence of its chemical framework in the behavior of biodiesel as fuel by predicting the more relevant thermophysical properties. Parameters for the biodiesel model were obtained by experimental data fitting. Optimal fatty ester composition and potential FAMEs profile were obtained by implementing an Evolutionary Genetic Algorithms (EGA). Biodiesel blends found in this work were compared with two commercial B100 stock in order to analyze its thermodynamical behavior which would be a powerful tool for clean combustion analysis differences.     

生物柴油掺烧甲醇对柴油机污染物影响研究

在186FA柴油机上,进行了燃用生物柴油和甲醇/生物柴油混合燃料的排放试验。研究结果表明,与燃用生物柴油相比,BM15在Pe=1.57 kW时CO升高279.1%,HC排放升高96.3%;随着混合燃料中甲醇浓度增加,NOx排放减少,标定转速满负荷BM15的NOx排放降低42.7%;低负荷时排气烟度相差不大,均不超过0.1 BSU,高负荷时BM15排气烟度降低51.2%。     

Biodiesel: Current Trends and Properties

Biodiesel, an alternative to petroleum-derived diesel fuel, is defined as the mono-alkyl esters of vegetable oils and animal fats. Several current issues affecting biodiesel that are briefly discussed include the role of new feedstocks in meeting increased demand for biodiesel and circumventing the food versus fuel issue, biodiesel production, as well as fuel properties and their improvement.     

Diesel/biodiesel proportion for by-compression ignition engines

Nowadays, computational combustion (CC) presents complex mathematical models where the fuel physical properties are important parameters. Most research on biodiesel aims at reducing pollutant emissions placing little emphasis on the relation between the fuel physical properties and its internal combustion. In this work it is presented a brief review on the importance of the physical properties and their relation to the internal combustion proposing a method to determine the volumetric proportion of biodiesel which will have efficient combustion in compression engines. The main injection and atomization properties related to the quality of ignition were measured, such as: density, viscosity and surface tension for mineral diesel (B0), biodiesel (B100) and other eleven mixtures BXX. With the proposed method, it was found that mixtures of diesel/soybean ethylic biodiesel from B2 to B30, present satisfactory internal combustion. The method may be used to predict the behavior of BXX proportions from other animal or vegetable sources and even be used as a preliminary or complementary criterion for the biodiesel certification.     

Analyzing biodiesel: standards and other methods

Biodiesel occupies a prominent position among the alternatives to conventional petrodiesel fuel owing to various technical and economic factors. It is obtained by reacting the parent vegetable oil or fat with an alcohol )transesterification) in the presence of a catalyst to give the corresponding monoalkyl esters, which are defined as biodiesel. Because of the nature of the starting material, the production process, and subsequent handling, various factors can influence biodiesel fuel quality. Fuel quality issues are commonly reflected in the contaminants or other minor components of biodiesel. This work categorizes both the restricted species in biodiesel and the physical properties prescribed by the standards, and details the standard reference methods to determine them as well as other procedures. Other aspects of biodiesel analysis, including production monitoring and assessing biodiesel/petrodiesel blends, are also addressed. The types of analyses include chromatographic, spectroscopic, physical properties-based, and wet chemical methods. The justifications for specifications in standards are also addressed.     

Combustion, performance and emission characteristics of a DI diesel engine fueled with ethanol-biodiesel blends

In this study, Euro V diesel fuel, biodiesel, and ethanol-biodiesel blends (BE) were tested in a 4-cylinder direct-injection diesel engine to investigate the combustion, performance and emission characteristics of the engine under five engine loads at the maximum torque engine speed of 1800 rpm. The results indicate that when compared with biodiesel, the combustion characteristics of ethanol-biodiesel blends changed; the engine performance has improved slightly with 5% ethanol in biodiesel (BE5). In comparison with Euro V diesel fuel, the biodiesel and BE blends have higher brake thermal efficiency. On the whole, compared with Euro V diesel fuel, the BE blends could lead to reduction of both NO_x and particulate emissions of the diesel engine. The effectiveness of NO_x and particulate reductions increases with increasing ethanol in the blends. With high percentage of ethanol in the BE blends, the HC, CO emissions could increase. But the use of BE5 could reduce the HC and CO emissions as well.     

Various strategies for reducing Nox emissions of biodiesel fuel used in conventional diesel engines: A review

Energy demand, decreasing fossil fuel reserves, and health-related issues about pollutants have led researchers to search for renewable alternative fuels to either partially or fully replace fossil fuels. Among many alternative fuels, biodiesel became one of the most popular choices due to similar properties to that of conventional diesel. Biodiesel produces slightly lower brake thermal efficiency compared to that of conventional biodiesel, but has an advantage of reduced emissions of CO₂, CO, HC, and smoke. However, biodiesel shows higher NOx emission which, when used in increased biodiesel market, may become a serious problem. Various strategies were attempted by different researcher to reduce NOx emissions. In this paper, various strategies, adapted for reducing NOx emissions of biodiesel fuel used in diesel engines for automobile applications, are reviewed and discussed. The strategies are grouped into three major groups, namely combustion treatments, exhaust after-treatments, and fuel treatments. Among various strategies discussed, fuel treatments, such as low temperature combustion, mixing fuel additives and reformulating fuel composition, reduce NOx emission without compromising other emission and performance characteristics and they seem to be promising for future biodiesel fuel.     

Influence of ethanol blends on the combustion performance and exhaust emission characteristics of a four-cylinder diesel engine at various engine loads and injection timings

The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of ethanol blending to diesel fuel on the combustion and exhaust emission characteristics of a four-cylinder diesel engine with a common-rail injection system. The overall spray characteristics, such as the spray tip penetration and the spray cone angle, were studied with respect to the ethanol blending ratio. A spray visualization system and a four-cylinder diesel engine equipped with a combustion and emission analyzer were utilized so as to analyze the spray and exhaust emission characteristics of the ethanol blending diesel fuel. Ethanol blended diesel fuel has a shorter spray tip penetration when compared to pure diesel fuel. In addition, the spray cone angle of ethanol blended fuels is larger. It is believed that the lower fuel density of ethanol blended fuels affects the spray characteristics. When the ethanol blended fuels are injected around top dead center (TDC), they exhibit unstable ignition characteristics because the higher ethanol blending ratio causes a long ignition delay. An advance in the injection timing also induces an increase in the combustion pressure due to the sufficient premixed duration. In a four-cylinder diesel engine, an increase in the ethanol blending ratio leads to a decrease in NO_x emissions due to the high heat of evaporation of ethanol fuel, however, CO and HC emissions increase. In addition, the CO and HC emissions exhibit a decreasing trend according to an increase in the engine load and an advance in the injection timing.     

Biodiesel combustion,emissions and emission control

The use of biodiesel is rapidly expanding around the world, making it imperative to fully understand the impacts of biodiesel on the diesel combustion process, pollutant formation and exhaust aftertreatment. Because its physical properties and chemical composition are distinctly different from conventional diesel fuel, biodiesel can alter the fuel injection and ignition processes whether neat or in blends. As a consequence, the emissions of NO_x and the amount, character and composition of particulate emissions are significantly affected. In this paper, we survey observations from a spectrum of our earlier studies on the impact of biodiesel on diesel combustion, emissions and emission control to provide a summary of the challenges and opportunities that biodiesel can provide.     

Some physical properties and oxidative stability of biodiesel produced from oil seed crops

Biodiesel is a cleaner burning fuel than petrodiesel and a suitable replacement in diesel engine. It is produced from renewable sources such as vegetable oils or animal fats. Biodiesel fuel was prepared from castor (CSO), palm kernel (PKO) and groundnut (GNO) oils through alkali transesterification reaction. The biodiesel produced was characterized as alternative diesel fuel. Fuel properties such as specific gravity, viscosity, calorific (combustion) value, The CSO, PKO and GNO were measured to evaluate the storage/oxidative stability of the oils to compare them with commercial petrodiesel. The biodiesel produced had good fuel properties with respect to ASTM D 6751 and EN 14214 specification standards, except that the kinematic viscosity of castor oil biodiesel was too low. The viscosity of castor oil biodiesel at different temperatures was in the range of 4.12–7.21 mm²/s. However, promising results which conformed to the above specification standards were realized when castor oil biodiesel was blended with commercial petrodiesel. At 28 °C the specific gravity recorded for CSO, PKO and GNO biodiesel was higher than the values obtained for petrodiesel. Commercial petrodiesel had the highest oxidative stability than biodiesel produced from CSO, PKO and GNO oils.     

Optimization of soy-biodiesel combustion in a modern diesel engine

As global petroleum demand continues to increase, alternative fuel vehicles are becoming the focus of increasing attention. Biodiesel has emerged as an attractive alternative fuel option due to its domestic availability from renewable sources, its relative physical and chemical similarities to conventional diesel fuel, and its miscibility with conventional diesel. Biodiesel combustion in modern diesel engines does, however, generally result in higher fuel consumption and nitrogen oxide (NO_x) emissions compared to diesel combustion due to fuel property differences including calorific value and oxygen content. The purpose of this study is to determine the optimal engine decision-making for 100% soy-based biodiesel to accommodate fuel property differences via modulation of air-fuel ratio (AFR), exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) fraction, fuel rail pressure, and start of main fuel injection pulse at over 150 different random combinations, each at four very different operating locations. Applying the nominal diesel settings to biodiesel combustion resulted in increases in NO_x at three of the four locations (up to 44%) and fuel consumption (11-20%) over the nominal diesel levels accompanied by substantial reductions in particulate matter (over 80%). The biodiesel optimal settings were defined as the parameter settings that produced comparable or lower NO_x, particulate matter (PM), and peak rate of change of in-cylinder pressure (peak dP/dt, a metric for noise) with respect to nominal diesel levels, while minimizing brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC). At most of the operating locations, the optimal engine decision-making was clearly shifted to lower AFRs and higher EGR fractions in order to reduce the observed increases in NO_x at the nominal settings, and to more advanced timings in order to mitigate the observed increases in fuel consumption at the nominal settings. These optimal parameter combinations for biodiesel were able to reduce NO_x and noise levels below nominal diesel levels while largely maintaining the substantial PM reductions. These parameter combinations, however, had little (maximum 4% reduction) or no net impact on reducing the biodiesel fuel consumption penalty.     

Partial hydrothermal oxidation of unsaturated high molecular weight carboxylic acids for enhancing the cold flow properties of biodiesel fuel

Biodiesel fuel has become more attractive recently because of its environmental benefits and the fact that it is a product made from renewable resources. However the less favorable cold flow properties or the low temperature operability of biodiesel fuel compared to conventional diesel is a major drawback limiting its use. The poor flow properties of biodiesel at cold temperatures are mainly due to biodiesel fuel being composed of long-chain fatty acids with an alcohol molecule attached. If the double bond of unsaturated fatty acids in these long-chain fatty acids could be ruptured selectively, then the cold flow properties of biodiesel fuel would be enhanced by reducing its viscosity.In this study, the selective hydrothermal oxidation of oleic acid, as a model compound of unsaturated high molecular weight carboxylic acids, was studied experimentally. The objective was to use this as a model to investigate whether the double bond of unsaturated fatty acids can be ruptured selectively by partial hydrothermal oxidation. Demonstration of this method could then be used to show the potential to improve the cold flow properties of biodiesel. Results showed that the amount of mono-carboxylic acids, aldehyde, di-carboxylic acids, and aldehyde-acids with a carbon number of 9 was significantly higher than other oxidative products. This suggests that the oxidative cleavage may principally occur at the double bond in hydrothermal conditions. The cloud and pour points for biodiesel fuel (B100) and B100 blend with a mixture of methyl esters or acetals were measured. These are the most important indicators for the cold flow properties of biodiesel fuel. The methyl esters or acetals used were made from the esterification of carboxylic acids or aldehydes by simulating the major oxidation products. These were obtained from the hydrothermal oxidation of oleic acid at different oxygen supply rates. Results showed that the cloud and pour points of the blend were significantly enhanced compared to those of B100.     

Cetane numbers of branched and straight-chain fatty esters determined in an ignition quality tester

The cetane number, a widely used diesel fuel quality parameter related to the ignition delay time (and combustion quality) of a fuel, has been applied to alternative diesel fuels such as biodiesel and its components. In this work, the cetane numbers of 29 samples of straight-chain and branched C₁-C₄ esters as well as 2-ethylhexyl esters of various common fatty acids were determined. The cetane numbers of these esters are not significantly affected by branching in the alcohol moiety. Therefore, branched esters, which improve the cold-flow properties of biodiesel, can be employed without greatly influencing ignition properties compared to the more common methyl esters. Unsaturation in the fatty acid chain was again the most significant factor causing lower cetane numbers. Cetane numbers were determined in an ignition quality tester (IQT) which is a newly developed, automated rapid method using only small amounts of material. The IQT is as applicable to biodiesel and its components as previous cetane-testing methods.