Preparation and evaluation of vegetable oil derived biodiesel esters as lubricity additives

Abstract

Abstract Various vegetable‐oil derived esters using methyl, ethyl, butyl, and 2‐propyl alcohols were prepared and tested as diesel fuel lubricity additives in a roller‐on‐cylinder lubricity evaluator. At1% additive treat rate, the canola methyl and 2‐propyl esters, the best‐performing esters, increased the lubricity number of a reference fuel by 60%. Statistical analyses indicated strong effects of fatty acids and alcohols on the wear, friction, and lubricity number of the fuel. While no single fatty acid was identifiably responsible for the wear reduction, certain non‐linoleic compounds correlated with the wear data in a semi‐log relationship. The low‐temperature behaviour of the biodiesel was studied using differential scanning calorimetry. The major transitional peak temperature of the biodiesel esters changed with the melting points of their primary fatty acids, and decreased with the lengthening and branching of the tail alkyl groups.