Improvement of Density, Viscosity and Cold Flow Properties of Palm Oil Biodiesel by Alcohol Addition

Abstract

Alternative fuel researches has gained very importance due to depletion threads of fossil fuels, strictly narrowing emission regulations and high cost of petroleum. Biodiesel one of the most favorite alternative fuels since it is renewable and cleaner energy source. Many vegetable oils and animal fats are used for biodiesel production as raw material. Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms which is produced widely in some regions and used as raw material for many industrial sectors. Palm oil can be used as feedstock for biodiesel production but it has some drawbacks such as high viscosity and bad cold flow properties. In this study, some fuel properties of biodiesel produced from palm oil and its blends with various alcohols such as isopropyl alcohol, ethanol, and methanol were investigated. The study showed that the inadequate fuel properties of palm oil biodiesel such as viscosity and cold flow properties can be improved with varıous alcohol addition with the POME-5% methanol (CH₃OH).

Keywords

• Biodiesel, False Flax Oil, Camelina Sativa, Transesterification, Fuel

References

1. Ramadhas A.S., Muraleedharan C. and Jayaraj S., “Performance and Emission Evaluation of a Diesel Engine Fueled with Methyl Esters of Rubber Seed Oil”, Renewable Energy, vol. 30, pp. 1789-1800, 2005.
2. Ozcanli M., Serin H., Aydin K. and Serin S., “Ricinus Communis (Castor Oil) methyl ester as a natural additive for biodiesel fuel”, Energy Education Science and Technology Part A: Energy Science and Research vol. 27(2), pp. 331-336, 2011.
3. Serin H., M. Ozcanli, M.K. Gokce., G. Tuccar. Biodiesel Production From Tea Seed (Camellia Sinensis) Oil and its Blends With Diesel Fuel” International Journal of Green Energy, vol.10:4,pp. 370-377,2013.
4. Juan C., Acevedoa C., Hernándeza J.A., Valdés C.F. and Kumar S., “Analysis of operating costs for producing biodiesel from palm oil at pilot-scale in Colombia”, Bioresource Technology, vol.188, pp.117–123, 2015.
5. Anwar F., Rashid U., Ashraf M. and Nadeem M., “Okra (Hibiscus esculentus) seed oil for biodiesel production”, Applied Energy, vol.87, pp.779-785, 2010.
6. Balusamy T. and Marappan R., “Effect of injection time and injection pressure on ci engine fuelled with methyl ester of thevetia peruviana seed oil”, International Journal of Green Energy, vol.7, pp.397-409, 2010.
7. Saribiyik O.Y., Ozcanli M., Serin H., Serin S. and Aydin K., “Biodiesel production from ricinus communis oil and its blends with soybean biodiesel. Strojniški vestnik”, Journal of Mechanical Engineering, vol. 56, pp.811-816, 2010.
8. Altun S.. “Fuel properties of biodiesels produced from different feed stocks”, Energy Educ. Sci. Technol. Part A vol.26, pp.165-174, 2011.

9. Caynak S., Gürü M., Biçer A., Keskin A. and Içingür Y., “Biodiesel production from pomace oil and improvement of its properties with synthetic manganese additive”, Fuel vol.88, pp.534-538, 2009.
10. Canakci M. and Van Gerpen J.H., “Compression of engine performance and emission for petroleum diesel fuel, yellow grease biodiesel, and soybean oil biodiesel”, Trans. ASAE, vol.46, pp.937–44, 2003.
11. Usta N., “Use of tobacco seed oil methyl ester in a turbocharged indirect injection diesel engine”, Biomass and Bioenergy, vol.28, pp.77-86, 2005.
12. Hamamci C., Saydut A., Tonbul Y., Kaya C. and Kafadar A.B., “Biodiesel production via transesterification from safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) seed oil”, Energy Sources, Part A, vol.33, pp.512–520, 2011.
13. Jianxin L.L., Zhi W. and Jianhua X., “Combustion and emission characteristics of diesel engine fueled with diesel/biodiesel/pentanol fuel blends”, Fuel, vol.15 pp. 211-218, 2015.
14. Karabektas M. and Hosoz M., “Performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine using isobutanol–diesel fuel blends”, Renewable Energy, vol.34, pp.1554-1559, 2009.
15. Yilmaz N. and Vigil F.M., “Potential use of a blend of diesel, biodiesel, alcohols and vegetable oil in compression ignition engines”, Fuel, vol. 124, pp. 168–172, 2014.
16. Yasin M.H.M., Yusaf T., Mamat R. and Yusop A.F., “Characterization of a diesel engine operating with a small proportion of methanol as a fuel additive in biodiesel blend”, Applied Energy, vol.114, pp. 865–873, 2014.
17. Yasin M.H.M., Mamat R., Yusop A.F., Rahim R., Aziz A. and Shah L.A.,” Fuel Physical Characteristics of Biodiesel Blend Fuels with Alcohol as Additives, Procedia”, Engineering, vol.53, pp.701-706, 2013.
18. Reeves J.B. and Weihrauch J.L., “Consumer and Food Economics Institute (1979). Composition of foods: fats and oils”, Agriculture Handbook 8-4. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Science and Education Administration. p. 4. OCLC 5301713.
19. Poon, L.Y., Hashim, H., Mat, R., and Mustaffa, A.A.,” Flash point prediction of tailor-made green diesel blends containing B5 palm oil biodiesel and alcohol” Fuel, vol.175, pp.287-293 2016.
20. Puneet V., Sharma M.P. and Gaurav D., “Impact of alcohol on biodiesel production and properties”, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol.56, pp. 319–333, 2016.
21. Lv P., Cheng Y., Yang L., Yuan Z., Li. H. and Luo W., “Improving the low temperature flow properties of palm oil biodiesel: Addition of cold flow improver”, Fuel Processing Technology, vol.110 pp. 61-64, 2013.
22. “Palm Oil Continues to Dominate Global Consumption in 2006/07” (PDF) (Press release). United States Department of Agriculture. June 2006. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
23. Gerpen J.V., Shanks R.P., Clements D. and Knothe G., “Biodiesel Analytic Methods, National Renewable Energy Laboratory”, Colorado, 2004.