An Analysis of the Relationships Between BiodieselPhysical Properties

摘要

Biodiesel is a value-added bioproduct that can be produced from various biomasses. Ithas been considered as a promising alternative for petroleum based diesel fuel, mainly because it isrenewable, it reduces net CO2 production from combustion, and it yields lower particulate emissionscompared to diesel fuel in diesel engines. Studies have shown that diesel engines fueled bybiodiesel fuels derived from different source materials had varied performance and emissions, andthe properties, such as normal boiling point, critical point, volatility, viscosity and surface tension,were regarded as the most important and fundamental cause of this variance. Therefore, a study onhow these properties correlated with each other and why they are correlated (if they are) will be veryimportant for the wide use of biodiesel fuels.In this study, the physical properties of normal boiling point, critical point, vapor pressure, enthalpy ofvaporization, viscosity and surface tension of nineteen different biodiesel fuels were correlated toeach other. These properties were predicted in a computer program developed for this study. Thestatistical analysis indicated that the normal boiling point and critical temperature are strongly relatedto almost all other properties. Almost all the properties, especially the normal boiling point and criticalpoints are strongly related to the number of carbon atoms. Specifically, the more the carbon atomsare, the higher the normal boiling point, critical temperature, critical volume and viscosity, and lowercritical pressure and vapor pressure will be. The number of double bonds doesn' t have much effecton these properties, except that it has positive effect on critical temperature and the latent heat ofvaporization.