The specific gravity of biodiesel and its blends with diesel fuel

The specific gravities of biodiesel and 75, 50, and 20% blends with No. 1 and No. 2 diesel fuels were measured as a function of temperature from the onset of crystallization to 100 degrees C. The results indicate that biodiesel and its blends demonstrate temperature-dependent behavior that is qualitatively similar to the diesel fuels. The temperature dependence of the specific gravity for biodiesel and its blends was compared with the ASTM D 1250-80 procedure for the temperature correction of hydrocarbon fuels, and the procedure was found to provide accurate corrections. A blending equation was developed that allows the specific gravity of blends to be calculated from the specific gravities of the biodiesel and diesel fuels.