The Limits of Going Green: Cold Weather Effects on Biodiesel

Overview

Objectives/Goals My project was to find which common blend of biodiesel (which is blended with #2 diesel) will perform best in cold conditions. I was also trying to find which one of them gelled or thickened the least. This is a major problem with biodiesel in cold weather. Methods/Materials I used a freezer set to 0 degrees, a refrigerator set to 35 degrees,18 samples of biodiesel blends, fuel line tubes, a ruler, a stopwatch, wood, red pen, pencil, liquid measuring tube, 5 gallons of biodiesel, 3 gallons of #2 diesel, and a temperature gun. Results My results were that of the 5 variables, the 5%bio/95% #2 diesel blend performed best. Next was the 10%bio, 20%bio, 50%bio, and last, the 100% bio blend. My control, a 100% #2 diesel sample performed best over all. A cool part of all this was that at 0 degrees, neither the 50% or 100% bio samples even came out of the glass test jar because they were so gelled. The 20% bio sample thickened a little bit, but still flowed okay. All the rest flowed fine. Conclusions/Discussion I found that in 0 degree conditions, it isn't wise to use a blend above 20% bio because most likely, any other higher blend will get to gelled, such as the 50% and 100% bio samples did in my tests. But this only applies for cold areas.

Competition history

• CSEF 2008 Product Science (Physical) (Junior Division Only) · Entry J1923

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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