olá
este foi o artigo que li sobre o assunto:
oxidation and polymerisation: a more complicated problem with bubble-washing is fuel oxidation.
all oils are not the same. some are 'drying' oils such as linseed oil, which is why it's used in paints and varnishes. when it dries the oil irreversibly polymerises (polymerizes) into a tough, insoluble plastic-like solid. at the high temperatures in internal combustion engines the process is accelerated. steadily accumulating films of tough, insoluble plastic-like solids are not what you want in your engine and injector pump.
polymerisation happens when the double bonds in unsaturated oil molecules are broken by oxygen from the air or water. the oil oxidises, forming peroxides (hydroperoxides), and the peroxides polymerise, bonding with carbon to create a long and stable molecule called a polymer (plastic). another effect of oxidation is that the hydroperoxides attack elastomers, such as rubber seals.
without oxygen the oil can't polymerise.
oxidation and polymerisation don't only affect the drying oils, there are also semi-drying oils, many of which are commonly used to make biodiesel, including sunflower and soy.
saturated oils don't polymerise, unsaturated oils do. the level of unsaturation is called the iodine value (iv) -- the higher the iv the more unsaturated the oil, the faster it will oxidise and the more it will polymerise. linseed oil, tung oil and some fish oils have ivs of between 170 and 185. coconut oil has an iv of 10 and won't polymerise. more information on iv: high iodine values
converting unsaturated oils to biodiesel lessens the polymerising effect but doesn't prevent it.
mixing biodiesel made from high-iv oils with biodiesel made from lower-iv oils also lessens the polymerising effect but doesn't prevent it.
the euro standard for biodiesel, en 1421 of 2003, is the de facto world standard, now copied by australia, and soon by japan. it sets both a maximum iv limit and an oxidation stability limit. the iv limit is 120, which excludes soy oil and sunflower oil as feedstocks for standard biodiesel in europe, but includes rapeseed oil, the main oil crop in europe.
soy is the main oil crop in the us, and the us astm d-6751 standard sets no iv or oxidation limits.
in a paper published in 1996, leader of the iowa state university biodiesel project prof. jon h. van gerpen stated: "the specification for biodiesel should include a limit on the tendency of the fuel to oxidize and a limit on the maximum degree of oxidation allowable for use of the fuel in diesel engines." see: determining the influence of contaminants on biodiesel properties, jon h. van gerpen et al., iowa state university, july 31, 1996 (acrobat file, 2.1mb)
a november 2005 report by the southwest research institute for the national renewable energy laboratory of the us dept. of energy, an evaluation and comparison of test methods to measure the oxidation stability of neat biodiesel, proposes test methods suitable for the inclusion of oxidation stability limits in the us astm d6751 biodiesel standard specifications. acrobat file, 816 kb:
http://www.nrel.gov/vehiclesandfuels/np ... /38983.pdf
the issue is still being widely ignored or denied in the us, but the european results are conclusive -- even when made from rapeseed oil with its lower iv, well within the eu standard limits, oxidised biodiesel can polymerise and damage pumps and engines. anti-oxidant additives for biodiesel sell well in europe.
homebrewers and oxidation: many homebrewers in the us think biodiesel shouldn't be used in the newer tdi or pdi diesel engines because the high injection pressures cause polymerisation. high pressures cannot cause polymerisation, only oxidation can do that.
others think that if the biodiesel meets the us astm standard it will not polymerise -- but the astm standard sets no limits for oxidation or iv levels.
"i agree with mike briggs [ biodiesel group, university of new hampshire] on polymerization. if we are talking about astm fuel, then it is a non-issue... polymerization was pretty much dismissed at at least one session at the nbb [us national biodiesel board] conference in february of this year, as biodiesel performed far better than anticipated in the lecturers' tests... meanwhile, quality control is not enforced in this country, so what do you expect?"
-- kumar plocher, owner, yokayo biofuels in california, "concern over bio polymerization", biodieselnow forums, 21 october 2004
any problems there may have been with tdi/pdi engines using biodiesel in the us could be due to poor fuel quality, and they also could be due to oxidation and polymerisation of high-iv soy biodiesel. but the problem is unacknowledged or denied. (see also the tdi-svo controversy.)
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_bubblewash.html
leiam a discussão no infopop.
http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/forums/ ... 9721044051
mais um artigo interessante sobre a estabilidade do biodiesel para os mais experientes deste forum.
http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/articl ... le_id=1443
abraço.