Studies on cottonseed oil biodiesel prepared in non-catalytic SCF conditions

Abstract

The vegetable oils are all extremely viscous with viscosities ranging from 10 to 20 times greater than petroleum diesel fuel. The purpose of the transesterification process is to lower the viscosity of the oil. Methyl and ethyl esters as biodiesel were prepared from cottonseed oil through transesterification using non-catalytic supercritical fluids. The transesterfication of linseed oil in SCF such as methanol and ethanol has proved to be the most promising process. The biodiesels were characterized for their physical and main fuel properties including viscosity, density, flash point and higher heating value (HHV). The viscosities of biodiesels (3.6–4.0 mm 2/s at 311 K) were much less than those of pure oils (33–36 mm 2/s at 311 K), and their HHVs of approximately 40.5 MJ/kg were 10% less than those of petrodiesel fuels (∼45 MJ/kg). The flash point values (435–445 K) of methyl and ethyl esters are highly lower than that of cottonseed oil (507–512 K). The most important variables affecting the ester yield during the transesterification reaction are molar ratio of alcohol to vegetable oil and reaction temperature.