US EPA

1462080 

Journal Article 

Fatty Acid Alkyl Esters as Solvents: Evaluation of the Kauri-Butanol Value. Comparison to Hydrocarbons, Dimethyl Diesters, and Other Oxygenates 

Knothe, G; Steidley, KR 

2011 

Yes 

Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research
ISSN: 0888-5885
EISSN: 1520-5045 

50 

7 

4177-4182 

10.1021/ie1023172 

WOS:000288833700058 

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ie1023172
Exit
 

Esters, most commonly methyl esters, of vegetable oils or
animal fats or other lipid feedstocks have found increasing use as an alternative diesel fuel
known as biodiesel. However, biodiesel also has good solvent properties, a feature rendered
additionally attractive by its biodegradability, low toxicity, and low content of volatile
organic compounds. The kauri-butanol (KB) value is a parameter used for describing the solvent
strength of a liquid. In this work, the KB values of individual fatty acid alkyl esters were
determined. The KB values of fatty esters depend on chain length, including the alcohol moiety,
and unsaturation, a phenomenon observed similarly in hydrocarbons. The KB values of fatty acid
methyl esters range from well over 100 for short-chain esters to the 40-60 range for C18 esters
with a maximum being attained for methyl esters of C(4)-C(5) acids. For the sake of comparison,
the KB values of dimethyl diesters and hydrocarbons (alkanes) were also determined as well as
those of some standard solvents. Compounds with eight carbons were selected to compare the
influence of various functional groups on solvent strength as documented by the KB value. KB
values can be determined with good accuracy by reducing the amount of KB solution from 20 to 5 g,
thus using correspondingly less solvent sample.