Specifications biodiesel manufacturing

The optimization of biodiesel production by transesterification of sunflower oil was studied (122). The best combination of process parameters was found to be three stoichiometric doses of methanol, 0.28% w/w of KOH, and 70°C temperamre. Several reports have been published on the properties of biodiesel manufactured with different fatty materials and on their performance in compression ignition engines, including information about sunflower oil and its esters (30, 31, 41, 123). Table 19 shows major properties of sunflower oil and its methyl esters. The physicochemical characteristics of these esters meet the norm specifications of different countries, even with improvements of some properties, such as the cetane number. 

Biodiesel is typically used in blends with fossil diesel fuel with the volume fraction specified by a numerical value (e.g., B2, B5, and BIO contain 2%, 5%, and 10% biodiesel). Most vehicle manufacturers warranty their diesel-powered vehicles to operate on blends up to B5 assuming the fuel meets existing fuel-quality specifications. Research and development is underway to develop vehicles and fuel infrastructures compatible with higher biodiesel blends (e.g., B20). 

---