US EPA

3536978 

Journal Article 

Thermodynamic selection of effective additives to improve the cloud point of biodiesel fuels 

Abe, M; Hirata, S; Komatsu, H; Yamagiwa, K; Tajima, H 

2016 

1 

Fuel
ISSN: 0016-2361
EISSN: 1873-7153 

171 

94-100 

10.1016/j.fuel.2015.12.053 

WOS:000368876400011 

We assessed a simple thermodynamic model, with the aim of
identifying biodiesel fuel cloud point (CP) improving additives, by predicting the CP values of
fatty acid methyl esters with additives. The results showed that the molar mass of the additive
has a significant effect in terms of improving the CP; the melting point and fusion enthalpy of
the additive, however, produce lesser effects. On the basis of these results, we selected the
additives tert-butyl alcohol, 2-butanol, cineol, 2-decanol, 2-decanone and oleyl alcohol, and
examined their effects on the CP of a model biodiesel fuel (a methyl oleate and methyl palmitate
mixture). The same trials were carried out using fatty acid methyl ester mixtures derived from
commercial cooking oils. As predicted, the selected test additives decreased the sample CP
values, with the optimum reduction obtained when using 10 wt.% of the additive. The results
demonstrate that additives capable of improving the CP can be readily screened using a simple
thermodynamic model. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 

Biodiesel fuel; Crystallization; Cloud point; Low temperature flow property; Thermodynamic method; Improver