Journal of King Saud University – Engineering Sciences xxx (2017) xxx–xxx

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Original article

A comparative study of stability characteristics of mahua and jatropha

biodiesel and their blends
N. Acharya a,⇑, P. Nanda b, S. Panda b, S. Acharya c
a
Excavation Department, Mahanadi Coalfields Limited, Burla, India
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, VSSUT, Burla, India
c
Department of Computer Application, VSSUT, Burla, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Now-a-days biodiesel is gaining attention for its positive impact on the environment. The vegetable oils
Received 27 February 2017 are major sources of biodiesel. For biodiesel programme in India, jatropha (Jatropha curas) has been iden-
Accepted 18 September 2017 tified as one of the most suitable tree borne non-edible oil seed. But its major drawback is its poor oxi-
Available online xxxx
dation stability. The mahua (Madhuca indica) is another tree borne non-edible oil seed found in India and
its production potential is about 60 MT per annum. Its oil content is around 35–40% and its calorific value
Keywords: is close to that of mineral diesel. In this paper, an attempt has been made to study and compare the oxi-
Biodiesel
dation and storage stability of mahua biodiesel with that of jatropha biodiesel and mineral diesel. To
Viscosity
Oxidation stability
improve the oxidation stability, the biodiesels have been blended with mineral diesel and it has been
Induction period found that 20% blended jatropha biodiesel (JB20) and 30% blended mahua biodiesel (MB30) satisfy the
Rancimat method EN-590 limit of 20 hrs. When both the biodiesels are blended in different proportions, the 50:50 mixtures
by volume satisfy the EN-14214 limit of 6 hrs. For the storage stability study, the different biodiesel sam-
ples have been stored in a specified conditions for 8 fortnights (120 days) period and the different prop-
erties like density, kinematic viscosity, flash point and acid number of the samples have been measured.
It has been found that the rate of change in values of the properties is higher in case of jatropha biodiesel
and its blends than that of mahua biodiesel and its blends.
Ó 2017 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University. This is an
open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction
The sources of mineral diesel are depleting day by day and the
exhaust emission of diesel engines is a major source of air pollu-
tion. India is the 2nd most populous country and the 3rd largest
mineral diesel consumer in the world. The consumption of mineral
diesel will increase further due to the rapid industrialization and
economic development. At present, more than 80% of the total
crude oil consumption is being imported and huge amount of
money is being spent which affects the economy of the country
adversely. The air pollution due to exhaust emission of vehicles
is increasing day by day and is the prime cause of different respi-
⇑ Corresponding author at.
E-mail address: narayan.acharya2@gmail.com (N. Acharya).
Peer review under responsibility of King Saud University.
Production and hosting by Elsevier
ratory diseases. So, there is a need for an alternative liquid fuel
which can be a substitute for mineral diesel and simultaneously
can reduce the air pollution. Many countries of the world are using
biodiesel to address the energy and environmental crisis. Biodiesel
is obtained from different renewable sources like vegetable oil,
waste cooking oil, animal fat and algae by trans-esterification pro-
cess (Subramaniam et al., 2013). It is a renewable, non-toxic, car-
bon neutral fuel having higher flash point, higher cetane number,
low sulphur content and better lubricity (Mofijur et al., 2013a;
Srithar et al., 2017). It contains around 10–12% more oxygen than
that of mineral diesel which helps for better combustion (Mofijur
et al., 2013b). The use of biodiesel will reduce the air pollution
and global warming (Kaul et al., 2007). Like other countries, India
has launched its biodiesel programme to cut the energy import
and reduce the air pollution. Though edible vegetable oils are being
used by different countries for biodiesel production, but for a coun-
try like India the same is not viable because the requirement of edi-
ble oil is very high due to its large population. At present the
requirement of edible oil is being met by its import. The import
of edible oil in India for last five years is approx. 55–65% of the total
consumption. So biodiesel programme in India has goals to utilise

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksues.2017.09.003
1018-3639/Ó 2017 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Please cite this article in press as: Acharya, N., et al. A comparative study of stability characteristics of mahua and jatropha biodiesel and their blends.
Journal of King Saud University – Engineering Sciences (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksues.2017.09.003
2 N. Acharya et al. / Journal of King Saud University – Engineering Sciences xxx (2017) xxx–xxx
non-edible feed stocks for production of biodiesel and jatropha
(Jatropha curas) seed has been identified as one of the most
suitable tree borne non-edible oil seed (Jain and Sharma, 2010a).
It is a drought resistant plant found in different countries like India,
China, Malaysia, Philippines, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru and
Africa (Atabani et al., 2013). The oil content of jatropha seed is
around 35–40% and its kernel contains oil around 50–60%. Its
physico-chemical properties are nearer to that of mineral diesel.
To cater the biodiesel need of India, a huge amount of jatropha
oil is necessary, which needs cultivation of jatropha plant in a large
area. The waste and barren land of India is very vast (13% of total
land), where the jatropha plant can be grown. But the major draw-
back of jatropha biodiesel is its poor oxidation stability (Chen et al.,
2013a), due to which the quality of jatropha biodiesel deteriorates
during its use in diesel engine and long storage period. India is also
rich in forest resources (20% of total land) where numerous non-
edible oil trees like mahua, neem, kapoak, kusum, sal etc. are avail-
able. Among these, production potential of mahua (Madhuca
indica) seed is about 60 MT per annum and its oil content is around
35–40% (Atabani et al., 2013). The calorific value of mahua biodie-
sel is 38.5 MJ/kg which is nearer to the calorific value of mineral
diesel (42 MJ/kg). Many researchers (Saravanan et al., 2010;
Puhan et al., 2005; Raheman and Ghadge, 2007; Godiganur et al.,
2009) studied the engine performances and emission characteris-
tics of mahua biodiesel and suggested that the same can be used
as an alternative fuel in diesel engines. Acharya et al. (2017a)
developed an artificial neural network model by using two input
data like engine load and blending ratio to predict the different
parameters of diesel engines like brake thermal efficiency, brake
specific fuel consumption, emission of carbon monoxide, hydrocar-
bon, smoke and oxides of nitrogen. Acharya et al. (2017b) also
studied the properties of blended mahua biodiesel and derived dif-
ferent regression equations which can be utilised to predict the
value of different properties of mahua biodiesel at any blending
ratio. They also suggested that 30% blending is an optimum blend-
ing ratio for mahua biodiesel and mineral diesel blend. As India is
one of the major consumers of mineral diesel, the use of non-edible
vegetable oils like jatropha and mahua as biodiesel will help to
adress the depletion of global energy reserve and environmental
pollution.
The major drawback of most of the biodiesels is their poor oxi-
dation stability. The oxidation process deteriorates the quality of
biodiesel and increases the wear of engine fuel pump (Balaji and
Cheralathan, 2015). The oxidation of biodiesel occurs in different
forms like aldehydes, alcohols, carboxylic acids, insoluble gums
and sediments. As biodiesel is more sensitive to reaction with fuel
bound oxygen, it results in auto-oxidation (Yaakob et al., 2014).
Different mechanisms associated with the oxidation process are
shown in Fig. 1. In this process, a set of reaction occurs which is
categorised as initiation, propagation and termination (Jain and
Sharma, 2011a).
The initiation of oxidation reaction occurs when hydrogen is
removed from the carbon atom next to the double bond and a car-
bon based free radical (R) is formed. This free radical when com-
bines with oxygen forms a peroxide free radical (ROO) which is
Fig. 1. Oxidation reaction of biodiesel fuel.
Please cite this article in press as: Acharya, N., et al. A comparative study of stability characteristics of mahua and jatropha biodiesel and their blends.
Journal of King Saud University – Engineering Sciences (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksues.2017.09.003
less active as compared to carbon free radicals. But it is also suffi-
ciently reactive to quickly abstract hydrogen from carbon to form
another carbon based free radical (R) and a hydroperoxide
(ROOH). The new carbon radical can freely react with oxygen to
continue the propagation cycle. The reaction terminates when
two free radicals combine and form a stable compound. The con-
centration of hydroperoxide (ROOH) remains low initially but after
a certain period of time it increases rapidly which indicates the
beginning of the overall oxidation process. This period is known
as the induction period. The following section presents some of
the literatures, regarding the oxidation and storage stability of dif-
ferent biodiesels and their blends.
2. Related work
Park et al. (2008) studied the effect of blending of three differ-
ent biodiesels like palm, rapeseed and soybean blended with dif-
ferent weight ratios having oxidation stability 11 hrs, 6.94 hrs
and 3.87 hrs respectively and found that there is an improvement
in oxidation stability of blended biodiesel. They found a close rela-
tionship between the oxidation stability and the fatty acid compo-
sition of blended biodiesels. Das et al. (2009) studied the long term
storage stability of karanja oil biodiesel and found that with an
increase in storage time, the oxidation stability of biodiesel
decreases where as peroxide value and viscosity increases. Bora
et al. (2009) studied the storage stability of mahua oil methyl ester
and found that during storage period, its peroxide value and vis-
cosity increases with time. The air and metal contact increases
the degradation rate and the same is higher in presence of sunlight
than any other conditions. Sarin et al. (2010) studied the blends of
jatropha and pongamia biodiesel with palm biodiesel in different
ratios and found that blended fuels (40% palm + 60% jatropha)
and (60% palm + 40% pongamia) have induction period of more
than 6 hrs which satisfies the EN-14214 (European) and IS-15607
(Indian) standards. They also examined the dependency of oxida-
tion stability on the total unsaturated Fatty Acid Methyl Ester
(FAME) and found a high degree of correlation between them with
regression coefficient (R2) as 0.999. The oxidation stability of a new
biodiesel can be predicted by using the correlation equation, if the
total unsaturated FAME composition is determined. Karavalakis
et al. (2010) studied the impact of biodiesel source material and
biodiesel concentration in mineral diesel on the stability of biodie-
sel blends and found that the stability of biodiesel depends upon a
number of factors like the composition of biodiesel, presence of
antioxidant additives and stages of oxidation. They also found a
strong correlation between stability of biodiesel blends and the
concentration of biodiesel in biodiesel-diesel blends. Khurana
and Agarwal (2011) studied the oxidation stability of blends of bio-
diesels derived from karanja, neem and jatropha oil and mineral
diesel and found that the oxidation stability of 10% blended biodie-
sel is the highest among all the blends. But when the blending per-
centage increases, the oxidation stability decreases and at 20%
blending the oxidation stability of karanja oil reduces and does
not satisfy the standard norms. Jain and Sharma (2011b) studied
the oxidation stability of blends of jatropha biodiesel and mineral
diesel. They found that blended jatropha biodiesel below 20% need
not require any antioxidant. Shahabuddin et al. (2012) studied the
oxidation and storage stability of biodiesel derived from palm, jat-
ropha and coconut oil and found that percentage of unsaturated
fatty acid plays a major role on the oxidation stability of biodiesel.
The biodiesels having higher percentage of unsaturated fatty acid
have poor oxidation stability and properties will be degraded in a
faster rate with increase in storage time. Mazumdar et al. (2013)
studied the storage stability of jatropha biodiesel in different stor-
age conditions and found that there is an increase in the values of
 N. Acharya et al. / Journal of King Saud University – Engineering Sciences xxx (2017) xxx–xxx 3

different properties of biodiesel like density, kinematic viscosity Table 1

and acid value with an increase in storage time which manifests Fatty Acid Composition of Mahua and Jatropha biodiesel (Acharya et al., 2017a,b;
Mofijur et al., 2013b).
as the reduction of stability of biodiesel over storage period. The
high temperature and exposure to air are two major external fac- Fatty Acids Structure Mahua Biodiesel Jatropha Biodiesel
tors responsible for degradation of biodiesel. Agarwal and C: D (wt%) (wt%)

Khurana (2013) studied the long term storage stability of karanja Oleic 18:1 39.1 44.6
biodiesel using different antioxidants like Butylated Hydrox- Palmitic 16:0 21.53 14.6
Stearic 18:0 18.9 7.6
yanisole (BHA), Propyl Gallate (PG), Tert-butylated hydroquinone Linoleic 18:2 19.55 31.9
(TBHQ), Pyrogol (PY) and Butylated Hydroxy Tolune(BHT) in differ- Linolenic 18:3 0.16 0.3
ent concentration. They observed that PY was able to retain the Myristic 14:0 0.08 0.1
specification of oxidation stability as per the EN-14214 standard Arachidic 20:0 0.62 0.3
Saturated - 41.19 22.6
i.e. 6 hrs for longer period followed by PG. They also observed that
Unsaturated - 58.81 76.8
the exposure to sun light and air are two major external factors
which are responsible for the degradation of quality of biodiesel
during storage period. Chen et al. (2013b) studied the properties
red for proper mixing and kept undisturbed for next 48 hrs. After
of blends of soapnut oil biodiesel and mineral diesel. The oxidation
completion of reaction, the total mixture gets separated into two
stability of soapnut biodiesel is 16.3 hrs which satisfies the norms
layers. The upper layer is methyl ester or biodiesel and the lower
of biodiesel standards i.e. 3 hrs as per ASTM D-6751 and 6 hrs as
layer is glycerol. The upper layer (methyl ester) is separated and
per EN-14214. But they found that induction period of blended
warm water of around 10% of the ester is added to remove any
soapnut biodiesel (B10) is 22.4 hrs and the same has been attribu-
impurities like excess catalyst and methanol and suspended soap
ted to the synergetic effect (effect arising between two or more
present in the ester and settled down for another 48 hrs. This pro-
substances which produce an effect greater than the sum of their
cess is called washing. Then the upper layer (around 95%) is dec-
individual effect) of antioxidant present in both mineral diesel hav-
anted gently to another flask to rule out the presence of any
ing oxidation stability of 17.3 hrs and soapnut biodiesel. Devi et al.
impurity and the decanted oil is again heated to a temperature of
(2017) studied the oxidation stability of pongmia pinnata biodiesel
around 60–65 °C in order to evaporate the excess water. The bio-
by adding ginger extract which contains the phenolic compound
diesels obtained are used for analysis purpose. As the fatty acid
and found that minimum doping of 250 ppm of ginger extract sat-
composition of biodiesel affects its oxidation stability, the same
isfy both the American (ASTM D-6751) and the European (EN-
is presented in Table 1. The physico-chemical properties like den-
14214) standards.
sity, kinematic viscosity, flash point, acid value, calorific value and
The above literature study reveals that biodiesel is more sus-
oxidation stability of both the biodiesels have been measured as
ceptible to oxidation than mineral diesel and the cause is the pres-
per the ASTM-6751 standard and presented in Table 2. The biodie-
ence of unsaturated fatty acid in the parent vegetable oil. The
sel standards like American Standard (ASTM-6751), European stan-
oxidation can be prevented by using different antioxidants, blend-
dard (EN-14214) and Indian standard (IS-15607) are also
ing with mineral diesel and blending with a biodiesel having
presented in Table 2. For biodiesel-diesel blends, different stan-
higher oxidation stability. Though many researchers carried out
dards like ASTM-D-975 (American), EN-590 (European) and BIS
their research regarding the oxidation and storage stability of jat-
(Bureau of Indian standard) are presented in Table 3. The oxidation
ropha biodiesel but there is very less literature available for the
stability of pure biodiesel and blends of biodiesel is quantified by
oxidation and storage stability mahua biodiesel. So, in this paper
their Induction Period (IP) and is evaluated using the Rancimat
an attempt has been made to study and compare the oxidation
method according to the EN-14112 standard and modified Rancimat
and storage stability of mahua biodiesel and its blends with jat-
method according to the EN-15751 standard for pure biodiesel and
ropha biodiesel and its blends and mineral diesel.
biodiesel blends respectively.

3. Material and method

For preparation of biodiesel, raw mahua and jatropha oils have
been collected from local area and filtered. The biodiesel from both
the vegetable oils has been prepared by trans-esterification pro-
cess. In this process, the vegetable oil has been heated to a temper-
ature of about 60–65 °C and methanol has been added to it in the
ratio of 1:6. Then, sodium hydroxide (NaOH) (3.5gm/litre of raw
oil) has been added as a catalyst. Then, the mixture has been stir-
4. Results and discussion
4.1. Comparison of oxidation stability of mahua biodiesel, jatropha
biodiesel and mineral diesel
In this section, the oxidation stability of mahua biodiesel (MBD)
and jatropha biodiesel (JBD) has been comapred with that of min-
eral diesel (MD) in terms of Induction Period (IP) as per EN-14112

Table 2
Comparison of the properties of Mahua Biodiesel, Jatropha Biodiesel and Mineral Diesel.

Properties Unit ASTM-D-6751 EN-14214 IS-15607 *Mahua Mahua *Jatropha Jatropha MineralDiesel
(Acharya et al., (Chen et al. (Sarin et al., biodiesel biodiesel biodiesel biodiesel
2017b) (2013b)) 2010) (Saravanan (Shahabuddin
et al., 2010) et al.2012)
Density at 15 °C kg/m3 a 860–900 860–900 882 873.8 870 864.02 824
Kinematic Viscosity mm2/sec 1.9–6 3.5–5 2.5–6 4.2 4.39 4.1 4.81 2.30
at 40 °C
Flash Point °C >130 >101 >120 170 130 180 238 53
Acid Value(max) mg KOH/gm 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.45 0.38 1.18 0.25
Calorific Value MJ/kg a a a 38.5 36.9 39.9 - 42
Oxidation Stability hrs(min) 3 6 6 8.2 - 3.75 3.37 23.70

a. not specified, *Obtained from measurement, – not reported by author

Please cite this article in press as: Acharya, N., et al. A comparative study of stability characteristics of mahua and jatropha biodiesel and their blends.
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4 N. Acharya et al. / Journal of King Saud University – Engineering Sciences xxx (2017) xxx–xxx

Table 3
Standards of biodiesel-diesel blends (Acharya et al., 2017b; Chen et al. (2013b)).

Properties Unit ASTMa D-975 EN-590b ASTMc D-7467 BISc

3
Density at 15 °C kg/m - 820–845 - 820–860
Kinematic Viscosity at 40 °C mm2/Sec 1.9–4.1 2–4.5 1.9–4.1 2–4.62
Flash Point(min) °C 52 52 52 35
Acid Value(max) mg KOH/gm - - 0.3 0.2
Oxidation Stability at 110 °C(min) hrs - 20 6 20

a – Applicable up to B5 blend, b – Applicable up to B7 blend, c – Applicable for B6–B20 blend. - – Not specified

costly chemicals which may increase the production cost of biodie-

sel. So, the 2nd and 3rd approaches have been discussed in this
25 paper.
Inducon period (hr)

20
15
23.7
10
8.2
5 3.75
0 period) at different blending ratios has been discussed. The blends
MD MBD JBD
Fig. 2. Induction Period of Mineral diesel, Mahua and Jatropha Biodiesel.
standard. The presence of unsaturated fatty acid in biodiesel affects
its oxidation stability. From Table 1, it is observed that jatropha
biodiesel contains more unsaturated fatty acid (76.8%) than mahua
biodiesel (58.81%). The oxidation stability in terms of Induction
Period (IP) in hrs of mahua biodiesel, jatropha biodiesel and min-
eral diesel has been presented in Table 2 and depicted in Fig. 2 also.
It is observed that the IP of mahua biodiesel (MBD) is 8.2 hrs which
satisfies the norms of ASTM D-6751 (min 3 hrs) and EN-14214
(min 6 hrs) and IS-15607 (min 6 hrs). Though jatropha biodiesel
(JBD) with IP of 3.75 hrs satisfy the norms of ASTM D-6751 (min
3 hrs) but fail to satisfy the norms of EN-14214 and IS -15607
(min 6 hrs). So, jatropha biodiesel with low oxidation stability
may create problems during its use as the fuel is subjected to a
very high temperature. Its quality may detoriate during its storage
also. So, inorder to improve the oxidation and storage stability, dif-
ferent approaches like i) adding antioxidant ii) blending with min-
eral diesel and iii) blending with other biodiesel with higher
oxidation stability can be choosen. Some of the synthetic antioxi-
dants like Pyrogallol, Gallic acid, Propyl gallate, Catechol, Nordihy-
droguaiaretic acid, Butylated hydroxyanisole and Butylated
hydroxytoluene are being used to improve the oxidation and stor-
age stability of biodiesel (Jain and Sharma, 2010b). But these are
4.1.1. Effect of blending of mahua and jatropha biodiesel with mineral
diesel on their oxiadation stability
In this section the effect of blending of mahua and jatropha bio-
diesel with mineral diesel on their oxidation stability (induction
of biodiesel and diesel is designated as ‘Bn’, where ‘n’ is a number
varying from 0 to 100, B0 is mineral diesel and B100 is pure biodie-
sel. For example B20 represents 20 percent biodiesel in a biodiesel-
mineral diesel blend. For this study the fuel samples of different
blending ratios (B10 to B90) have been prepared and the oxidation
stability has been measured as per the EN-15751 standard. The
results of both the biodiesels in different blending ratios have been
plotted and the same have been depicted in Fig. 3 for comaparison.
At 10% blending (B10), the induction period of both the samples i.e.
mahua and jatropha biodiesel blends are 22 hrs and 21.5 hrs
respectively, but it decreases further and at 20% blending, the val-
ues are 21.1 hrs and 20.1 hrs respectively. Upto 20% blending both
the biodiesels satisfy the EN-590 and BIS norms of blended biodie-
sel i.e. 20 hrs, but at 30% blending the induction period of mahua
biodiesel is 20.05 hrs and that of jatropha biodiesel is 17.8 hrs
which shows that only mahua biodiesel satisfies the EN-590 and
BIS norms, but jatropha biodiesel doesnot. Beyond that both the
biodiesels donot satisfy any standrad norm.
4.1.2. Effect of blending of mahua biodiesel with jatropha biodiesel on
their oxidation stability
In this section the effect of blending of mahua biodiesel with
jatropha biodiesel on their oxidation stability has been discussed.
As the oxidation stability of mahua biodiesel (MBD) is higher
(119% more) than that of jatropha biodiesel (JBD), the oxidation
stability of jatropha biodiesel can be improved by blending it with

Fig. 3. Variation of induction period (hrs) of mahua and jatropha biodiesel at different blending ratios.

Please cite this article in press as: Acharya, N., et al. A comparative study of stability characteristics of mahua and jatropha biodiesel and their blends.
Journal of King Saud University – Engineering Sciences (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksues.2017.09.003
 N. Acharya et al. / Journal of King Saud University – Engineering Sciences xxx (2017) xxx–xxx 5

Fig. 4. Variation of induction period(hrs) of jatropha biodiesel with different blending ratios with mahua biodiesel.

mahua biodiesel. In this study, both the biodiesels have been

blended at different volumetric ratios like J80:M20 (80% jatropha
and 20% mahua), J60:M40 (60% jatropha and 40% mahua), J50:
M50 (50% jatropha and 50% mahua), J40:M60 (40% jatropha and
60% mahua), and J20:M80 (20% jatropha and 80% mahua) and
the oxidation stability of all the samples have been studied which
is depicted in Fig. 4. It is observed that the oxidation stability of jat-
ropha biodiesel (JBD) in terms of Induction Period (IP) increases
from 3.75 hrs to 6.1 hrs at 50% blending i.e. J50:M50 (50% jatropha
and 50% mahua) which satisfies the norm of 6 hrs as per the EN-
14214 and the IS-15607 standard. The increase in induction period
of the mixture of mahua and jatropha biodiesel, when there is an
increase in percentage of MBD is due to the reduction of unsatu-
rated fatty acid component in the mixture.
Fig. 5. Variation of density over storage period.

4.2. Storage stability of mahua and jatropha biodiesel and their blends
with mineral diesel
In this section the storage stability of mineral diesel, mahua and
jatropha biodiesel and their blends with mineral diesel has been
studied and the variation of different physico-chemical properties
like density, kinematic viscosity, flash point and Total Acid Number
(TAN) during the storage period have been recorded. Different
samples of mineral diesel, mahua and jatropha biodiesel and their
blends with mineral diesel (B20 and B30) have been studied for a
period of ‘8’ fortnights (120 days). The prepared fuel samples
(size-250 ml) have been put in a glass bottle at room temperature
of about 24–26°C where the relative humidity of 65% has been
maintained.
4.2.1. Density
It is a basic parameter of any substance and has a great impor-
tance on fuel when the quality of a fuel is concerned. A pure fuel
has comparatively lower density than that of an oxidized fuel. So
when a fuel is stored for a longer period, due to different external
factors like atmospheric temperature, humidity in air, heat and
material of storage container; oxidation takes place and insoluble
sediment is formed which increases its mass and density. The vari-
ation of density of all the fuel samples during the storage period
has been depicted in Fig. 5. It is observed that the density of all
the fuel samples increases with different rate. The variation of den-
sity is maximum for jatropha biodiesel (JBD) i.e. 3 kg/m3 followed
by mahua biodiesel (MBD) i.e. 1.6 kg/m3 and the lowest for mineral
diesel (MD) i.e. 0.5 kg/m3. For blended biodiesels the maximum
variation is for JB30 (1.4 kg/m3), followed by JB20 (1.2 kg/m3)
which is followed by MB30 (1.02 kg/m3) and MB20 (0.8 kg/m3). It
is observed that the rate of increase in density over storage period
for pure biodiesels and mineral diesel are in the order of
JBD > MBD > MD and for blended biodiesels it is in the order of
JB30 > JB20 > MB30 > MB20.
4.2.2. Viscosity
Viscosity is the property of a liquid which indicates its flow abil-
ity in a conduit. It is important for design of fuel injection system,
particularly at low temperature. One of the characteristics of a
good fuel is its low viscosity. The oxidation process affects the vis-
cosity of biodiesel adversely. The variation of kinematic viscosity
(KV) at 40 °C of biodiesels, its blends (B20 and B30) and mineral
diesel over storage period has been depicted in Fig. 6. It is observed
that the change in kinematic viscosity of jatropha biodiesel, mahua
biodiesel and mineral diesel over the period of storage is
1.12 mm2/sec, 0.6 mm2/sec and 0.32 mm2/sec respectively. The
change in kinematic viscosity of blended biodiesels like JB20 and
JB30 is 0.48 mm2/sec and 0.56 mm2/sec respectively and for
MB20 and MB30 the change in kinematic viscosity is 0.38 mm2/
sec and 0.44 mm2/sec respectively. It is observed that the rate of
increase of kinematic viscosity over storage period for pure biodie-
sels and mineral diesel are in the order of JBD > MBD > MD and for
blended biodiesel it is in the order of JB30 > JB20 > MB30 > MB20.
4.2.3. Flash point
Flash point of a fuel is the minimum temperature at which a
fuel emits enough vapour in order to get ignited. It indicates the
volatility and flammability of a fuel. Flash point of a fuel is inver-
sely proportional to its volatility. Low flash point is one of the char-
acteristics of fuel for diesel engine as there is no external aid for
ignition. But fuels having low flash point are unsafe during storage,
handling and transportation and there is a risk of fire hazard also.
As biodiesels have higher flash point, there is less possibility of fire

Please cite this article in press as: Acharya, N., et al. A comparative study of stability characteristics of mahua and jatropha biodiesel and their blends.
Journal of King Saud University – Engineering Sciences (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksues.2017.09.003
6 N. Acharya et al. / Journal of King Saud University – Engineering Sciences xxx (2017) xxx–xxx
Fig. 6. Variation of kinematic viscosity over storage period.
Fig. 7. Variation of flash point over storage period.
hazard. The variation of flash point of biodiesels, their blends (B20
and B30) and mineral diesel over storage period has been depicted
in Fig. 7. It is observed that there is a reduction in flash point during
the storage period. The maximum variation of flash point is
observed for jatropha biodiesel (18 °C) followed by mahua biodie-
sel (12 °C) and minimum variation is observed for mineral diesel
(8 °C). For blended biodiesels, maximum variation of flash point
occurs for JB30 (11 °C), followed by JB20 (10 °C), further followed
by MB30 (9.2 °C) and MB20 (9 °C) respectively. It is observed that
the rate of decrease of flash point over storage period for pure bio-
diesels and mineral diesel are in the order JBD > MBD > MD and for
blended biodiesels, it is in the order of JB30 > JB20 > MB30 > MB20.
4.2.4. Total acid number (TAN)
The total acid number (TAN) is a measure of the amount of free
fatty acid contained in a fresh fuel sample. A higher amount of free
fatty acid in a fuel leads to higher acid value and can be the cause of
corrosion of the fuel line. It is also called neutralization number
which is expressed as milligram of potassium hydroxide (KOH)
required for neutralizing 1.0 gram of biodiesel. It is observed from
Fig. 8 that the TAN value increases during storage period for all the
fuel samples. The cause of this increase in TAN value is due to an
increase in hydro-peroxide content during storage period which
may further oxidize into acids. A maximum increase in TAN occurs
for jatropha biodiesel (0.3 mg KOH/gm) followed by mahua biodie-
sel (0.15 mg KOH/gm). Similar to other properties, least variation
occurs for mineral diesel (0.12 mg KOH/gm). For blended biodie-
sels, maximum variation occurs for JB30 (0.174 mg KOH/gm) fol-
lowed by JB20 (0.156 mg KOH/gm), further followed by MB30
(0.129 mg KOH/gm) and MB20 (0.126 mg KOH/gm) respectively.
It is observed that the rate of increase of TAN over storage period
for pure biodiesels and mineral diesel are in the order
JBD > MBD > MD and for blended biodiesels it is in the order of
JB30 > JB20 > MB30 > MB20. It is observed that the TAN for
jatropha and mahua biodiesel exceeds the norms provided by dif-
ferent standards i.e. 0.5 mg KOH/gm after 3rd fortnight.
Please cite this article in press as: Acharya, N., et al. A comparative study of stability characteristics of mahua and jatropha biodiesel and their blends.
Journal of King Saud University – Engineering Sciences (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksues.2017.09.003
Fig. 8. Variation of TAN with Storage Period.
5. Conclusion and future work
In this comparative study for the oxidation and storage stability
of mahua and jatropha biodiesel, the following conclusions can be
drawn.
1. The presence of more unsaturated fatty acid (76.8%) in jatropha
biodiesel than in mahua biodiesel (58.81%) makes the jatropha
biodiesel more prone to oxidation and the induction period of
jatropha biodiesel is lower (3.75 hrs) as compared to that of
mahua biodiesel (8.2 hrs).
2. The oxidation stability of biodiesels can be increased by blend-
ing with mineral diesel in different proportions. The 20% blend-
ing (B20) of jatropha biodiesel and 30% blending (B30) of mahua
biodiesel satisfy the EN-590 and BIS limit of 20hrs.
3. The oxidation stability of jatropha biodiesel can also be
increased by blending it with mahua biodiesel. The oxidation
stability of J50:M50 (both the biodiesel blended in their 50%
volume) mixture satisfies the norm of 6 hrs as per the EN-
14214 and IS-15607 standards.
4. During the storage period of 8 fortnights i.e. 120 days, the effects
of oxidation have been clearly observed in terms of density, kine-
matic viscosity, flash point and total acid number. It is observed
that there is a maximum change in the values of properties for
jatropha biodiesel followed by mahua biodiesel and least change
for mineral diesel. For blended biodiesels, maximum change
occurs in case of 30% blended jatropha biodiesel (JB30) and min-
imum change occurs for 20% blended mahua biodiesel (MB20).
The oxidation stability of mixture of mahua and jatropha bio-
diesel (J50:M50) satisfies the norms of different standards like
ASTM D-6751, EN-14214 and IS-15607. This work may be
enhanced in future by studying other physico-chemical properties,
engine performance and emission characteristics of the mahua and
jatropha biodiesel (J50:M50) mixture to analyze its suitability as
fuel in diesel engines.
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