Submitted to: Annual Meeting and Expo of the American Oil Chemists' Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: March 9, 2005
Publication Date: May 8, 2005
Citation: Dunn, R.O. 2005. Cold flow properties of biodiesel: analysis by sub-ambient light scattering (ls) and differential scanning calorimetry (dsc) [abstract]. 96th Annual Meeting and Expo of the American Oil Chemists' Society. p. 56. Technical Abstract: Biodiesel has inferior cold flow properties in comparison with petroleum middle distillates (petro-diesel). Blends with as little as 10 vol% (B10) typically have significantly higher cloud point (CP) and pour point (PP) than petroleum middle distillates (petro-diesel). Although cold filter plugging point (CFPP) and PP of biodiesel/petro-diesel blends may be improved by treatment with cold flow improver additives, these additives do not reduce CP by more than 3-5ºC. When stored in moderate temperature climates, biodiesel blends should be periodically monitored during cooler months. This work examines use of manual and automated American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) test methods to monitor CP, PP and CFPP. Automated test methods for determining CP and PP have a number of advantages over manual methods, namely small sample volumes, simultaneous measurement of CP and PP, speed of analysis and accuracy of results. Results showed that while biodiesel/petro-diesel blends may be reliably monitored by automated methods, deviations with respect to manual methods were observed for neat biodiesel and other non-petroleum liquids.