Differences in rheological profile of regular diesel and bio-diesel fuel

Biodiesel represents a promising alternative to regular fossil diesel. Fuel viscosity markedly influences injection, spraying and combustion, viscosity is thus critical factor to be evaluated and monitored. This work is focused on quantifying the differences in temperature dependent kinematic viscosity regular diesel fuel and B30 biodiesel fuel. The samples were assumed to be Newtonian fluids. Vis­co­si­ty was measured on a digital rotary viscometer in a range of 0 to 80 °C. More significant difference between minimum and maximum values was found in case of diesel fuel in comparison with biodiesel fuel. Temperature dependence of both fuels was modeled using several mathematical models – polynomial, power and Gaussian equation. The Gaussian fit offers the best match between experimental and computed data. Description of viscosity behavior of fuels is critically important, e.g. when considering or calculating running efficiency and performance of combustion engines. The models proposed in this work may be used as a tool for precise prediction of rheological behavior of diesel-type fuels.