Impact of Esters of Mono- and Dicarboxylic Acids on Diesel Fuel Quality

The objective of this work was to assess how esters of mono- and dicarboxylic acids of different structure affect diesel fuel quality, by measuring cetane numbers and cold flow properties of blends of the esters under investigation with gasoil. An increase in either the chain length of the normal alcohol used for the esterification or the chain length of the mono- or dicarboxylic acid involved in the esterification improves the cetane number. Among the fatty acid esters of the same molecular type, those having the carboxylic group close to one end of the molecule have better ignition quality, whereas those having the ester group around the middle of the molecule appear to have better cold flow performance. Oleates combine good ignition quality with adequate cold flow performance, whereas the high oxygen content of some diesters seems to be an extra advantage.