Biodiesel produced from different feedstocks has difference in
molecular structure, such as difference in carbon chain length,
degree of unsaturation, and branching of carbon chain, which will
influence the physical and chemical properties of the biodiesel and
hence its combustion characteristics and material compatibility.
Seehra et al. [15] carried out investigation on the structural characteristics
and swelling mechanism of two commercial nitrile–
butadiene elastomers in various fluids, such as toluene, o-xylene,
p-xylene, mesitylene, ethanol, tert-butanol and n-hexane.
However, this study only focused on the molecular structure effect
of aromatic, alkane and alcohol on elastomer degradation, but not
the fatty acid methyl ester. Thus, the aim of this study is to compare
the degradation of physical and mechanical properties of
NBR in different biodiesel and different fatty acid esters, in order
to investigate the effects of molecular structure and feedstock of
biodiesel on its compatibility with NBR.