Study on volatility and flash point of the pseudo-binary mixtures of sunflowerseed-based biodiesel plus ethanol

Volatility and flash point for the pseudo-binary mixtures of sunflowerseed-based biodiesel + ethanol were measured over the entire composition range. The biodiesel was prepared by the transesterification of sunflowerseed oil in supercritical methanol without using any catalyst. The vapor pressures of mixtures of biodiesel + ethanol as a function of temperature were measured by comparative ebulliometry with an inclined ebulliometer. The vapor pressures versus composition at different temperatures and temperatures versus composition at different pressures were obtained from Antoine correlations. It is found that ethanol can adjust effectively the volatility and flash point of the biodiesel. The correlation of the flash points with the vapor pressure data for the pseudo-binary mixtures of biodiesel + ethanol displays agreement with the experimental data obtained by closed cup test. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.