An empirical correlation in predicting the viscosity of refined vegetable oils

Abstract

Accurate knowledge of transport properties of oil is essential for mass and heat flow. Viscosity is one of the important properties of an oil which needs to be determined as it influences the ease of handling, transport and nature of storage. The effect of temperature on viscosity of six refined vegetable oils viz. palm oil, rice bran oil, cottonseed oil, mustard oil, sunflower oil and soybean oil has been studied. An empirical correlation between reduced viscosity and reduced temperature has been derived for the determination of viscosities of refined vegetable oils showing Arrhenius behaviour above 20°C (293 K). This correlation predicts the viscosity of refined vegetable oils at temperatures more than 40-60°C above 20°C (293 K). Consistency tests for viscosity data using reduced parameters have been reported. The viscosities calculated using proposed empirical correlation agree well with the reported experimental values.