Low temperature behavior of poultry fat biodiesel:diesel blends

As the worldwide consumption of poultry meat rises the use of poultry fat as a feedstock for biodiesel production becomes attractive considering economical and environmental reasons. However, poultry fat biodiesel still faces some restrictions due to its poor flow properties at low temperatures. In this study ethylic and methylic poultry fat biodiesels and their blends with diesel were evaluated in terms of flow properties. Modulated Temperature Differential Scanning Calorimetry (MT-DSC) was used to understand the physical meaning of properties as Cold Filter Plugging Point (CFPP), Pour Point (PP) and Cloud Point (CP), widely used in biodiesel characterization. Based on the MT-DSC studies, it was observed that the first crystallization peak temperature had values similar to CFPP and CP. This way CP was found to be associated with the first solidified material and not with the early formation of the first nuclei, as normally reported. On the other hand, these crystals already lead to the flow decrease, as indicate by the CFPP results. PP values were close to the second crystallization peak temperature, not being related to the complete solidification of the fuel. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.