Research of the use and effects of 2-ethylhexyl nitrate additive to increase the cetane number of biodiesels produced from different oil sources

Energy has become an essential component for sustaining socio-economic growth since the early industrial revolution. Many countries of the world meet most of the energy they need from oil, and the vast majority of this oil is imported, creating a critical problem of energy dependence. Alternative energy sources that can be produced with domestic resources are a very critical issue for countries like our country that import the vast majority of fossil-based energy. The fact that biofuels, which are becoming increasingly important in the world among alternative energy sources, can be used as an alternative to fossil-based fuels causes attention to be drawn to this point in energy. In this research, biodiesel production from sunflower oil, corn oil, safflower oil, canola oil and olive oil was investigated. After characterization of the available oil, biodiesel used in laboratory scale and engine tests was produced by transesterification method, respectively. Due to the low acid value of the oils (0.22 mgKOH/gr), base catalyzed transesterification was preferred and potassium hydroxide (KOH) was used as catalyst and methyl alcohol as alcohol. The cetane numbers of sunflower oil, corn oil, safflower oil, canola oil and olive oil were calculated and these values were found to be in accordance with EN 14214 and ASTM D6751 standards in pure form, 0.1% 2-EHN added form and 0.25% 2-EHN added form. When the results obtained are evaluated in general, it is understood that biodiesel fuel obtained from sunflower oil, corn oil, safflower oil, canola oil and olive oil have similar characteristics with the fuels obtained from raw materials commonly used in biodiesel production.