Premium
Properties of rapeseed oil for use as a diesel fuel extender
Author(s) -
McDonnell K.,
Ward S.,
Leahy J. J.,
McNulty P.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of the american oil chemists' society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.512
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1558-9331
pISSN - 0003-021X
DOI - 10.1007/s11746-999-0001-y
Subject(s) - diesel fuel , cetane number , thermogravimetric analysis , fuel oil , rapeseed , waste management , combustion , environmental science , materials science , biodiesel , chemistry , pulp and paper industry , organic chemistry , engineering , food science , catalysis
Abstract Chemical and thermal analyses were carried out on degummed and filtered (5 µm) rapeseed oil (referred to as SRO, i.e., semirefined rapeseed oil) to determine its suitability as a diesel fuel extender. The upper rate for inclusion of SRO with diesel fuel is 25%. This fuel blend had a phosphorus level of 2.5 ppm, which was comparable to rape methyl esters (1.0 ppm phosphorus). Thermogravimetric analyses were used to estimate the cetane ratings of the fuels. A 25% SRO/diesel blend had an estimated cetane index of 32.4 compared to 38.1 for diesel fuel only. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analyses were used to compare the volatility ranges of the fuels. SRO needed higher temperatures for volatilization (i.e., 70–260°C for diesel fuel vs. 280–520°C for SRO). This indicated poorer cold‐starting performance of SRO compared with diesel fuel. SRO fuel is a low‐sulfur, high‐oxygen fuel giving SRO a more favorable emissions profile than pure diesel fuel.