ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal

Structural studies of methyl stearate

Abstract: In order to tackle emissions targets for CO2, there is increasing pressure to replace fossil fuels with renewable fuels. Biodiesel is one such renewable transportation fuel that comprises long-chain saturated fatty acid methyl esters such as methyl stearate. Although biodiesel has many advantages compared to conventional diesel, it suffers from poor performance at low temperatures on account of crystallisation in fuel lines and in high-pressure injectors. We are currently investigating the crystallisation of biodiesel under low-temperature and high-pressure conditions, and are using methyl stearate as a model compound. The aim of the proposed experiment is to use high-resolution neutron powder diffraction to obtain the crystal structure of methyl stearate. This will contribute to the development of crystal-habit modifiers that prevent blockage of fuel lines in cold conditions.

Principal Investigator: Professor Colin Pulham
Experimenter: Miss Katrina Warrack
Experimenter: Dr Kevin Knight
Experimenter: Professor Ken Lewtas
Experimenter: Professor Peter Dowding
Experimenter: Dr Joe Hriljac
Experimenter: Dr Xiaojiao Liu
Experimenter: Dr Kevin Knight

DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB1520312

ISIS Experiment Number: RB1520312

Publisher: STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Data format: RAW/Nexus
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Data Citation

The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research publication is as:
[author], [date], [title], [publisher], [doi]

For Example:
Professor Colin Pulham et al; (2016): Structural studies of methyl stearate, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB1520312

Data is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license.