DETERMINATION OF THE IMPACT OF ESSENTIAL OIL ON THE OXIDATION STABILITY AND ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF BIODIESEL

Abstract

The adoption of green alternatives in engineering applications has made significant contributions to environmental sustainability. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of essential oil on the performance of biodiesel during storage. Two batches of biodiesel were manufactured using groundnut oil: one batch remained untreated, while the other was stabilized with 4% (by volume of the groundnut oil) of onion bulbs residue oil. The biodiesels underwent testing for their fuel properties, including acid value (AV), kinematic viscosity (KV), and induction period (IP), as well as their electrical properties, such as electrical conductivity (EC) and dielectric constant (ɛʹ), following ASTM International standards. The results revealed that the onion oil had significant influence on the physicochemical and electrical properties of the biodiesel (p ≤0.05). During 150 storage days the control batch exhibited an AV increment of 0.93 to 1.73 mg KOH/g, while the blended batch showed an AV increment of 0.85 to 1.4 mg KOH/g; the KV of the unfortified unit inclined from 4.27 to 6.57 mm/s, while in the fortified batch, the KV increased from 4.53 to 5.47 mm/s; and the IP of the untreated biodiesel declined from 3.33 to 2.17 hours, while the treated batch IP reduced from 3.9 to 3.63 hours. Regarding the electrical properties, the EC of the control and stabilized units increased from 8100 to 11533 pS/m and 7500 to 10133 pS/m, respectively. These findings highlight the potential of employing organic additives to improve the quality of biofuels, thereby enhancing their performance in automobile engines and electrical installations