Determination of Some Physicochemical Properties of Camelina Biodiesel Blends with Different Alcohols

Abstract

As the world population increases, energy use, environmental pollution and energy prices are also increasing rapidly. Since energy resources are limited and not available everywhere, countries aim to increase alternative energy sources in order to produce their own energy. At the same time, in order to protect the environment from negative effects, research on biodiesel is diversified and the effects of its blends with different alcohols are examined. The Camelina plant seeds preferred in this study contain high levels of oil (42-45%), and the high erucic acid content of the oil (2.3-4.2%) makes the consumption of oil as human food unfavorable. In this case, it makes the use of oil in biofuel production more attractive in terms of sustainability of human food production. The properties of the fuels obtained by blending different alcohols (heptane, hexane, ethanol, butanol, n-pentanol, iso-pentanol) at 10% ratios into Camelina biodiesel (C100) obtained by the transesterification method were determined. It has been observed that the viscosity, density, calorific value and cold flow properties of the fuels obtained by blending alcohols with C100 biodiesel, which has fuel properties in accordance with TS EN 14214 standards, are improved in all blends. While the flash point of heptane, hexane, ethanol and butanol mixture fuels occurred at low temperatures, it was above 50^oC in mixtures with high carbon n-pentanol and iso-pentanol. The high flash point is important for transportation and storage safety and highlights the usability of these fuels. When the fuel properties were examined, the best results among the alcohols blended with camelina biodiesel were obtained in the blend with n-pentanol.