Relationships among flash point, carbon residue, viscosity and some impurities in biodiesel after ethanolysis of rapeseed oil

Many samples of rapeseed oil ethyl ester were prepared by alkaline-catalyzed transesterification at various conditions (reaction time, temperature, amount of catalyst, the molar ratio of ethanol to oil, the rotations of a disperser and the purification by water). The concentrations of the key impurities for biodiesel quality (the concentrations of monoglycerides, diglycerides, triglycerides, free glycerol, ethanol, free fatty acids, water) and some qualitative parameters (flash point, carbon residue, kinematics viscosity at 40 degrees C) were determined and then the relationships among them were found out. The relationships were characterized by the linear or non-linear statistical models. The found models enable the better understanding of the significance of the qualitative parameters and estimate them from the concentrations of impurities. The temperature dependence was also measured in the case of the viscosity of ethyl ester and used rapeseed oil. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.