Impact of cold flow improvers on soybean biodiesel blend

The use of biodiesel as a diesel fuel extender and lubricity improver is rapidly increasing. An import aspect of using these extenders is their transport in cold climates and subsequent mixing with cold diesel fuel. In this paper, the cold flow properties of biodiesel (B100) and 80% (B80) to 90% biodiesel in kerosene were evaluated with pour point depressants, toward the objective of identifying approaches to transport and mix biodiesel with diesel in cold climates. Four cold flow improver additives were tested at 0.1–2% in B80, B90, and B100 blends. Two additives significantly decreased the pour points of soybean biodiesel blends, but all the four additives had little effect on cloud points. A mixture of 0.2% additive, 79.8% biodiesel, and 20% kerosene reduced the pour point of B100 by 27°C.