2.4 Biodiesel characterization
The analysis of biodiesel specifications has great importance in assessing the quality of fuel, either
environmentally or in terms of preservation of the motorized equipment. Thus, for the biodiesel
characterization some of the most important parameters were considered whose compliance is
essential for its usage in vehicles engines. These include the density at 15 ºC (according to the NP EN
14214:2009 standard), the kinematic viscosity at 40 ºC (according to the EN ISO 3104 standard), the
acid value (according to the EN 14104 standard), the iodine value (according to the EN 14111
standard) and the methyl esters content (determined by gas chromatography using a Dani GC 1000
DPC gas chromatograph (DANI Instruments S.P.A.) equipped with an AT-WAX (Heliflex capillary,
Alltech) column (30 m, 0.32 mm internal diameter and 0.25 μm film thickness). The injector
temperature was set to 250 ºC, while the flame ionization detector (FID) temperature was set to 250 ºC
and the oven temperature to 195 ºC. The carrier gas used was He at 1 mL/min flow. Injection was
made in a split mode, using a split ratio of 1:80, and the volume injected was 0.1 μL).