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

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.