A review of physicochemical and improvement of cold-flow properties of biodiesel

This article fully discusses the recent trends in the improvements of the cold flow properties of biodiesel. Biodiesel is a renewable, non-toxic and biodegradable alternative fuel having high cetane number, releasing lesser air pollutants, promising energy securely, safety and economy in terms of foreign exchange. However, despite all these benefits offered by biodiesel, it could not gain desired popularity for use as fuel in transportation systems mainly due to its poor flow properties at low temperatures. World over efforts are in progress to improve cold-flow properties of biodiesel. Various options that are drawing focus of researchers’ include-use of additives, blending with petroleum diesel, winterization, use of branched chain esters, and thermal cracking etc. This review paper gives a detailed might to all these options examining their techno economic feasibility for large scale production of biodiesel with derived flow properties.