ARS | Publication request: HPLC Methods for Assessing Biodiesel Quality and Blends

Submitted to: Annual Meeting and Expo of the American Oil Chemists' Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: February 17, 2007
Publication Date: May 1, 2007
Citation: Foglia, T.A., Jones, K.C., Marmer, W.N. 2007. HPLC methods for assessing biodiesel quality and blends [abstract]. Annual Meeting and Expo of the American Oil Chemists' Society. p. 101.

Technical Abstract: Biodiesel is an alternative diesel fuel that can be obtained from several agricultural feedstocks, namely, vegetable oils, animal fats, and recycled restaurant greases. Chemically, biodiesel is a mixture of simple fatty acid esters, primarily methyl and ethyl, produced through transesterification of the triglyceride feedstock. Before biodiesel can be marketed as an alternative diesel fuel, however, it must meet certain fuel specifications as outlined in ASTM standards. One important criterion of biodiesel quality is the residual (total) glycerol in the biodiesel, which is the sum of the free and bound glycerol (a function of the amount of triglycerides and partial glycerides). Currently, high-temperature gas chromatography (HTGC) is the approved method for determining total glycerol in biodiesel. Previously, we have developed high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for determining bound glycerol in biodiesel. In this paper we have improved this HPLC method for determination total glycerol (free and bound) in biodiesel fuels obtained from different feedstocks. The precision, accuracy operational advantages of the HPLC method developed will be presented.