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| BIODIESEL AS AUTOMOBILE |
2.0 Characteristics of Biodiesel
Biodiesel as automotive fuel has similar properties to petrodiesel and as such can be directly used in existing diesel engines with no or minor modifications. It can be used alone or mixed in any ratio with petrodiesel. The most common blend is B20, a mix of 20% biodiesel with 80% petroleum diesel. Biodiesel has 11% oxygen by weight and essentially contains no sulphur or aromatics.
2.1 Physical Properties
Some of the physical characteristics of biodiesel are given in Table-2.
Table-2: Physical properties of Biodiesel
| Properties |
Values |
|
Specific gravity |
0.88 |
|
Viscosity @ 20 Ċ (centistokes) |
7.5 |
|
Cetane Index |
49 |
|
Cold filter Plugging Point (Ċ) |
-12 |
|
Net Heating Value (Kilojoules/Liter) |
33,300 |
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