Sustaining the Oxidation Stability of Biodiesel and Its Blends in Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles Using Adsorbents

This study investigates the impact of adsorbents on the oxidation stability of biodiesel and its blends. Biodiesel fuels contain significant amounts of unsaturated fatty acid esters and therefore, are prone to oxidative degradation which deteriorate the quality of the fuel. Fuels in plug-in hybrid vehicles especially biodiesel and its blends over a storage period of time deteriorate. Diesel fuel (EN590) blended with biodiesel was thermo oxidatively aged using the Rancimat. The fuel mixture was treated with adsorbents magnesium aluminum hydroxycarbonate and 1,3,5-trimethyl-2,4,6-tris(3,5-ditert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzyl)benzene. The adsorbents offered an effective performance by significantly increasing the oxidation stability of the mixture by a factor of 4. There was about 90% reduction in acid value. The adsorbents demonstrated high effectiveness in oxidative stabilization of biodiesel and its blends.