Liquid-liquid equilibria for the ternary system castor oil + soybean oil + hexane are studied at 298.15 K. Mixtures are equilibrated in a temperature-controlled water bath. After evaporation of hexane, the oil compositions of each phase are determined by a combination of gravimetric measurements and the analysis of fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) using gas chromatography. Since castor and soybean triglycerides are a mixture of five or six fatty acids, the castor and soybean fractions are characterized by the relative concentration of ricinoleic acid. Fitting the K-ratios for castor oil, soybean oil, and hexane smoothed the liquid-liquid equilibrium data. A computational cross-flow extraction is designed on the basis of the smoothed phase diagram and is experimentally validated.

Ozonolysis of methyl soyate (biodiesel) was conducted in the presence of methanol, dichloromethane (solvent), and triethylamine (catalyst) at -75 degrees C. Structural analysis, including FTIR, GC, and GC-MS, showed that the total amount of double bonds in the mixture was reduced by more than 90% after 2 h of ozonolysis. All of the esters predicted by this novel application of ozone reaction chemistry were successfully produced. Other major components were identified by GC-MS. Thermogravimetric analysis showed a dramatic decrease in the onset volatilization temperature from 135 to 73 degrees C, making ozonated biodiesel fuel comparable to diesel fuel (76 degrees C). Differential scanning calorimetric studies showed that the cooling curves for both methyl soyate and ozonated methyl soyate displayed two exothermic regions. The onset freezing temperature of ozonated methyl soyate in the "colder" region was significantly reduced from -63 to -86 degrees C. Furthermore, the degree of crystallinity in the "hotter" region was also reduced.

At the time this paper was written, Dr. Tylisha Baber was serving as a National Academies Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow. She earned a B.S. degree in chemical engineering from North Carolina State University and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Michigan State University. Tylisha's dissertation focused on the design and implementation of a biomass conversion process for improving the fuel properties of biodiesel.

At the time this paper was written, Dr. Tylisha Baber was serving as a National Academies Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow. She earned a B.S. degree in chemical engineering from North Carolina State University and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Michigan State University. Tylisha's dissertation focused on the design and implementation of a biomass conversion process for improving the fuel properties of biodiesel.