Computational analysis of the properties of biodiesel blended with diesel fuel

To better understand the processes that happen during biodiesel combustion, there is a need to have accurate knowledge of the biodiesel properties. This paper looks at the viscosity, density and surface tension of diesel fuel, soybean biodiesel, rapeseed biodiesel, and their blends. The computed blends were then placed into an atomization model to look at the effects of property differences in fuel atomization. The results of the property analysis showed that all three properties for the biodiesel had higher values than the reference diesel fuel. Most notably, the viscosity was in upwards of 90% higher. These higher property values led to significant differences in the Sauter Mean Diameter. The lower level blends will not exhibit any noticeable effects, only the higher level blends. The higher Sauter Mean Diameters would indicate delays in combustion and less NO_x formation, but other relevant research says otherwise. More research on other biodiesel properties needs to completed to find the cause of greater NO_x emissions from biodiesel fuels.