The flash point (FP) of binary mixtures
formed by fatty acid methyl
esters (FAMEs), which are the major compounds of methyl biodiesel,
is investigated in this study, and the nonideality of the liquid phase
was calculated with the ideal model, UNIFAC, UNIFAC-Dortmund (UNIFAC-Do),
and NIST-UNIFAC models. The different models used to calculate the
activity coefficient were compared through the FP result that was
estimated using Liaw’s approach. The experimental results show
that the larger the carbon chain of FAME is, or the richer the solution
in the heavier compound is, the higher the FP of the compound and
solution is. The results also show that the ideal model is the best
one between those tested in this study because the solutions studied
here can be considered ideal, and the calculated FP temperature of
the binary mixtures presented an average root-mean-square deviation
equal to 0.67% using this model. It was observed as an abrupt decrease
in the FP value of the mixture with small addictions of the light
compound in the region that is rich in the heavier compound, remarkably
when the difference in the length of the alkyl carbon chain of these
components is large. This behavior is an important factor that must
be considered in safety and transportation cases.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.