Super Second Row asked: Ricinoleic acid is hydroxylated on the 12th with a double bond on the 9th carbons. If you esterify this acid you get a fatty acid methyl ester with 3 rather than 2 oxygen atoms. Doesn’t this give it better combustion properties. Does the extra oxygen make it a better biodiesel?
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The first 2 sentences are correct. The next 2, which are the conclusions from the facts, are all wrong. Extra oxygen is not an advantage, it is a disadvantage. It results in less energy per gallon. Petroleum diesel has no oxygen, that is why it has more energy than biodiesel. If you add even more oxygen you get less energy. In addition, the hydroxy fatty acid causes high viscosity. You cannot make an in-spec biodiesel from castor oil because the viscosity will be too high. It is the high viscosity that makes castor oil valuable in lubricants, but for biodiesel it is not good
nope. Since diesel engines are run with excess O2, the extra O in the molecule does nothing.
If I had a daughter, and I went into her room and esterified her, and then said I would enjoy it if I could get away with it, would you challenge me? Okay, draw. es⋅ter⋅i⋅fy /ɛˈstɛrəˌfaɪ/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [e-ster-uh-fahy] Show IPA Pronunciation
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object), -fied, -fy⋅ing. Chemistry. to convert into an ester.