engleski

Effect of fatty acid propyl esters on surface tension, viscosity and density of blends with diesel fuel

The advantages of biomass are that it contains negligible amounts of sulfur, nitrogen and metals and it is a renewable source of carbon that can be converted into liquid fuel. Vegetable oils are produced from plant biomass by extraction, but their high viscosity disables its direct application in diesel engines. [1] This disadvantage is overcome by transesterification of triglycerides from vegetable oils and alcohols, mostly methanol, thus result in fatty acid alkyl esters, i.e. biodiesel. Although methanol and ethanol are predominantly used, advantages of propanol, due to the additional carbon atom in its structure, are better blending capabilities, higher cetane number and calorific value. [2] Considering that and the fact that Croatia has high yields of sunflower crops, transesterification is carried out with sunflower oil in the presence of a basic catalyst (KOH). The aim of this study was to investigate the addition of propanol and propyl esters on application properties of blends with diesel fuel for use in internal combustion engines. By increasing the content of propyl esters, surface tension values increased which can have a negative influence on fuel injection in engines. Also, the addition of propyl esters caused an increase in kinematic viscosity which can result in better lubricity

biodiesel, fatty acid propyl esters, surface tension, viscosity

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