Investigation and Improvement in Cold Flow Properties of Pongamia Biodiesel

Cold flow properties are the main issue regarding the development of Pongamia biodiesel as alternative fuel to diesel. The poor cold flow property of biodiesel results in gum formation and crystallization of fuel particles which can be improved by winterization, blending and addition of cold flow improvers. The experimental investigation shows that Cloud Point and Pour Point of Pongamia biodiesel (PB100) is 20 degrees C and 19 degrees C respectively. The winterization process results in improvement of 5 degrees C in CP and PP respectively for PB100. The blending of Pongamia biodiesel with diesel and kerosene results in improvement of Cloud Point by 9 and 11.5 degrees C and Pour Point by 11 and 12.5 degrees C respectively. It is found that ethanol as cold flow improver plays major role in enhancement of Cloud Point and Pour Point as it improve both by 10 degrees C. The result of investigation recommends the use of PE20 fuel for engine operation under cold climatic condition without any fuel quality problem. Out of various methods for improving cold flow properties addition of cold flow improver is best method to achieve the desired values of cold flow properties for biodiesel.