Spectroscopic Monitoring of Biodiesel Aging

Abstract

The suitability of absorption and fluorescence
spectroscopy for monitoring biodiesel aging is assessed. Changes
recorded in the UV/VIS and IR spectra during accelerated aging
experiments are analysed with respect to corresponding changes
in a selection of chemical and physical properties of biodiesel,
namely, induction period, viscosity and acid number. A novel
approach for evaluating fluorescence spectral data is presented.
It is determined that fluorescence spectroscopy provides excellent
sensitivity for detecting changes in biodiesel properties during
early aging. Thus, a new sensitive method based on fluorescence
for monitoring the quality of biodiesel is proposed.