Abstract
Saturated monoglyceride (SMG) is a main cause of precipitate formed above cloud point of biodiesel (B100), which leads to filter plugging in diesel engine. In this work, we studied the effect of SMG content (0.1–0.7 wt%) of palm biodiesel (PO-B100) on the cloud point (CP) of diesel fuels blended with PO-B100 at different concentrations (B0, B7, B10 and B20). Euro 4 and Euro 5 diesels with a high and low aromatic content were used, respectively. The effect of SMG concentration on CP of biodiesel blends was more pronounced in case of a low aromatic Euro 5 diesel. An extent of CP change was also affected by the initial SMG concentration of PO-B100 and biodiesel blending ratios since they determined the SMG content of the final biodiesel blends. An adsorptive removal of SMG in PO-B100 was investigated by using natural zeolite as much cheaper adsorbents than commercial magnesium silicate (MS) and silica gel. The crystalline structure of natural zeolite and MS was studied by X-ray diffraction. Both MS and silica gel exhibited higher performance than natural zeolite in the SMG removal at 45 °C. To improve the SMG adsorption capacity, the natural zeolite was treated with 1 M nitric acid solution at 60 °C. The resulting modified zeolite had an increased SiO2 content, as measured by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, due to dealumination effect. Moreover, it showed an improved adsorption performance: the capacity of SMG adsorption was 31.5 mgSMG g-1, corresponding to a decrease of SMG content of PO-B100 from 0.7 wt% to 0.35 wt%, when using 10 wt% adsorbent loading at 45 oC for 50 min. As a result, an increase in the cloud point of biodiesel blends was significantly retarded.
Highlights
Biodiesel (B100) is an alternative fuel produced via transesterification process in which triglycerides are reacted with methanol to yield fatty acid methyl esters (FAME)
An extent of cloud point (CP) change was affected by the initial Saturated monoglyceride (SMG) concentration of PO-B100 and biodiesel blending ratios since they determined the SMG content of the final biodiesel blends
When the SMG concentration of B10 was increased to 0.021 wt%, CP was increased for 4 oC and 10 oC for the blends derived from Euro 4 and Euro 5 diesels, respectively (Figure 1(b))
Summary
Biodiesel (B100) is an alternative fuel produced via transesterification process in which triglycerides are reacted with methanol to yield fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). Monoglycerides can be classified into two groups based on type of fatty acids: saturated monoglycerides (SMG) and unsaturated monoglycerides (UMG). SMG significantly increases CP of soy oil biodiesel (SOB100) because less stable form alpha-phase convert to more stable form beta-phase that is less soluble in B100 for 10 times (Chupka et al, 2012). An increase in the concentration of SMG for 0.01 wt% in the SO-B100, biodiesel blend could enhance CP for 4 oC (Chupka et al, 2014). To the best of our knowledge, there is no any research, which systematically studies the effect of SMG concentration on CP of biodiesel blends based on POB100. We demonstrated the effect of SMG content (0.1–0.7 wt%) of PO-B100 on CP of diesel fuels blended with PO-B100 at different concentrations (B0, B7, B10 and B20)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
