THERMOGRAVIMETRIC APPROACH FOR ASSESSING THE OXIDATION LEVEL OF A BIODIESEL SAMPLE

Biodiesel, unlike diesel, is highly susceptible to autoxidation. This autoxidation is a major concern for a biodiesel producer. Various methods have been developed to estimate the degree of oxidative stability of biodiesel. These methods are useful to compare and estimate the oxidative stability between different biodiesel samples. However, an absolute value of the oxidative state will be more useful. In this study, we describe a method of estimating a figure that can be used as an indicator of the oxidation level. This indicator was determined from the thermal decomposition curve of biodiesel, as obtained from the thermogravimetric test. Biodiesel from waste cooking oil was oxidized at 80, 100 and 120 ºC using different exposure areas (19.6, 63.6, and 153.9 cm2). The percentage of oxidation, measured from low (80 ºC, 19.6 cm2) to highly aggressive conditions (120 ºC, 153.9 cm2), was in the range of 0.4 ± 0.1 and 23.5 ± 3.3. Kinematic viscosity was also measured for the oxidized samples, and a strong correlation (R2=0.96) was observed between the percentage of oxidation products and kinematic viscosity. In addition, the oxidative effect of temperature and area of exposure on the biodiesel samples was confirmed by ultraviolet spectroscopy.