A mini-review on the cold flow properties of biodiesel and its blends

Abstract

Biodiesels are a renewable fuel that may be produced from various sources. It is endorsed in some countries of the world as a replacement for diesel fuel. While biodiesel possesses numerous benefits, it has disadvantaged cold flow properties (CFP)in comparison with petro-diesel. This is due to the presence of saturated and unsaturated fatty acid esters. Poor CFP of biodiesel subsequently affect the performance in cold weather and damage the engine fuel system, as well as choke the fuel filter, fuel inlet lines and injector nozzle. Previously, attempt were made to minimize the damaging impact of bad cold flow effect through the reduction of pour point, cloud point and the cold filter plugging point of biodiesel. This study is focused on the biodiesel CFP-related mechanisms and highlights the factors that initialise and pace the crystallisation process. This review indicates that the CFP of biodiesel fuel can be improved through the utilisation of different techniques. However, it is recommended that improvement methods in terms of fuel properties and efficiency should be carefully studied and tested before implemented in industrial applications.