Exploration and Enhancement on Fuel Stability of Biodiesel

Researches concerning the practice of using biodiesel extracted from many feedstocks as the substitute for diesel fuel have been escalated in a high rate due to the exaggerating demand and diminishing supply of fossil fuels caused by rapid rate of industrialization and increasing vehicle population in the recent decades. Biodiesel have been recommended as a vehicular fuel because of their similar physio-chemical properties when compared to diesel fuel. Nearly 350 species of biodiesel feedstocks have been explored and studied on the performance, emission and combustion characteristics for diesel engines by many researchers. However, the commercial use of biodiesel in the global fuel market has been limited because of the main drawback of instability of fuel properties due to the deterioration of its quality when it is in contact with oxygen unlike petroleum diesel. Stability of fuel properties is chiefly significant to ensure the expected performance and life of the diesel engine. This book portrays about the three types of stabilities like oxidation stability, storage stability and thermal stability, which are playing chief roles in making the fuel quality stable.