Density, Viscosity, and Distillation Temperatures of Binary Blends of Diesel Fuel Mixed with Oxygenated Components at Different Temperatures

Abstract

This paper reports density, kinematic viscosity, and distillation curves for blends of diesel fuel with n-butanol, diesel fuel with n-pentanol, and diesel fuel with diethylene glycol dimethyl ether. It is known that these properties affect not only fuel transportation and distribution processes but also the phenomena that occur in an internal combustion engine; therefore, these aspects are intriguing to study. Oxygenated compounds such as n-butanol, n-pentanol, and diethylene glycol dimethyl ether can be used as additives for diesel fuel. Their use can contribute to a significant improvement in the fuel’s ignitability due to their high oxygen contents. Measurements of the experimental properties of various blend compositions were carried out at temperatures ranging between 288.15 K and 323.15 K. Based on density and viscosity data, different mathematical models were verified for the purpose of establishing better quality standards for the production of fuel. Good accuracies were obtained in the cases of density, viscosity, and interaction parameters, with the largest average absolute deviation (AAD%) being 0.4351. Moreover, as the determination of density is uncomplicated, rapid, and requires small sample volumes, correlations with the distillation temperatures used for the fuel blends were investigated to estimate the samples’ cetane indices. These determinations will be useful in the automobile industry when designing transport equipment or pipelines in situations when oxygenated compounds may constitute a fuel component in diesel blends.