Zuowen Liu / Kunming University of Science and Technology
Fashe Li / Kunming University of Science and Technology
Wenchao Wang / Kunming University of Science and Technology
This paper characterizes the oxidation and components of a Jatropha curcas. L biodiesel sample through ultra high performance liquid chromatography, infrared spectrum, GC-MS, and oxidation stability analyses, before and after oxidation. The authors conclude that Jatropha curcas. L biodiesel is a mixture fatty acid methyl esters composed of methyl oleates, methyl linoleates, methyl palmitates and methyl stearates. The content of methyl linoleate, which contains two unsaturated double bonds, decreased from 39.02% to 0.30% after oxidation, and the components of the products, which contain different aldehydes, acids, ketones, and alcohols, increased in complexity. The results show that biodiesel oxidation is mainly the oxidation of unsaturated double and triple bonds. On this basis, the authors propose a mechanism of biodiesel oxidation. It is suggested that this processes is an autocatalyzed chain reaction that can be anthropogenically terminated through the use of antioxidants with benzene electrophilic groups.