Screening Vegetable Oil Alcohol Esters as Fuel Lubricity Enhancers

Methyl and ethyl monoalkyl esters of various vegetable oils were produced for determining the effects of type of alcohol and fatty acid profile of the vegetable oil on the lubricity of the ester. Four methyl esters and six ethyl esters were analyzed for wear properties using the American Society for Testing and Materials method D 6079, Evaluating Lubricity of Diesel Fuels by the High-Frequency Reciprocating Rig. Ethyl esters showed noticeable improvement compared to methyl esters in the wear properties of each ester tested. No correlation was found between lubricity improvement and fatty acid profile of the ester, except that esters of castor oil had improved lubricity over other oils with similar carbon chain-length (C₁₈) fatty acids.

Keywords: Biodiesel fuel, engine wear, fatty acid, lubricity, monoalkyl esters, vegetable oil
DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-001-0307-y