Spectroscopic Monitoring of Biodiesel Aging

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.