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Submitted to: Renewable Energy
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 7/14/2015 Publication Date: 8/28/2015 Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/62301 Citation: Moser, B.R. 2016. Fuel property enhancement of biodiesel fuels from common and alternative feedstocks via complementary blending. Renewable Energy. 85:819-825. Interpretive Summary: This research revealed that biodiesel prepared from meadowfoam and field pennycress oils improved the fuel properties of camelina, cottonseed, palm, and soybean oil-based biodiesel fuels. The primary objectives of this study were to improve the oxidative stability and cold flow properties of camelina, cottonseed, palm, and soybean oil-based biodiesel fuels through blending with meadowfoam and field pennycress oil-based biodiesel fuels. Complementary blending strategies were successful in enhancing the fuel properties of biodiesel. This result is significant because two of the technical disadvantages of biodiesel versus normal diesel fuel are poor cold flow properties and oxidative stability. These results will be important to biodiesel producers, distributors, and end-users (customers) because a strategy was described that yields favorable fuel properties for biodiesel fuels. This research may ultimately improve market penetration, availability, and public perception of domestically produced agricultural fuels such as biodiesel, thus affording greater national independence from imported petroleum-based fuels. Technical Abstract: Fatty acid methyl esters (biodiesel) prepared from field pennycress and meadowfoam seed oils were blended with methyl esters from camelina, cottonseed, palm, and soybean oils in an effort to ameliorate technical deficiencies inherent to these biodiesel fuels. For instance, camelina, cottonseed, and soybean oil-derived biodiesels exhibited poor oxidative stabilities but satisfactory kinematic viscosities. Field pennycress and meadowfoam seed oil methyl esters yielded excellent cold flow properties but high kinematic viscosities. Thus, field pennycress and meadowfoam-derived biodiesel fuels were blended with the other biodiesels to simultaneously ameliorate cold flow, oxidative stability, and viscosity deficiencies inherent to the individual fuels. Highly linear correlations were noted between blend ratio and cold flow as well as viscosity after least squares statistical regression whereas a non-linear relationship was observed for oxidative stability. Equations generated from statistical regression were highly accurate at predicting kinematic viscosity, reasonably accurate for prediction of cold flow properties, and less accurate at predicting oxidative stability. In summary, complementary blending enhanced fuel properties such as cold flow, kinematic viscosity, and oxidative stability of biodiesel. |
