Fuel 89 (2010) 37183724

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Fuel
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Sunower biodiesel production and application in family farms in Brazil

Anderson Favero Porte a,b, Rosana de Cassia de Souza Schneider a,b,c,*, Jonas Alvaro Kaercher a,b, Rodrigo Augusto Klamt c, Willian Luiz Schmatz c, William Leonardo Teixeira da Silva c, Wolmar Alpio Severo Filho c
a b c

Environmental Technology Postgraduate, Santa Cruz do Sul University, 2293 Independncia Av., Mail Box 188, Zip code: 96815-900, Santa Cruz do Sul, RS, Brazil Engineering, Architecture and Agrarian Sciences Department, Santa Cruz do Sul University, 2293 Independncia Av., Mail Box 188, Zip code: 96815-900, Santa Cruz do Sul, RS, Brazil Chemistry and Physics Department, Santa Cruz do Sul University, 2293 Independncia Av., Mail Box 188, Zip code: 96815-900, Santa Cruz do Sul, RS, Brazil

a r t i c l e

i n f o

a b s t r a c t
There are limited options available for compact small-scale biodiesel production equipment that produces biodiesel of similar quality as that obtained from an industrial-scale production system. The aim of the present study was to evaluate equipment optimization for producing 40200 L/day of biodiesel. The equipment was used to produce biodiesel for personal consumption. The produced biodiesel was tested in three microtractors, the principal agricultural machines used in family farms in the Vale do Rio Pardo region of Southern Brazil. Our results demonstrated that the equipment produced biodiesel of sufcient quality according to the limits established by the Brazilian Petroleum National Agency (ANP). In conclusion, this biodiesel can be used in microtractors with little wear on engine parts. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Article history: Received 27 January 2010 Received in revised form 1 July 2010 Accepted 14 July 2010 Available online 27 July 2010 Keywords: Biodiesel Engine Sunower Transesterication

1. Introduction The environmental problems caused by the indiscriminate use and scarcity of petroleum are leading researchers to explore renewable energy resources, such as derivatives of vegetable oils [13]. In Brazil, as in many other countries, the use of fossil fuels in energy production has caused serious environmental problems. Therefore, improving energy efciency and developing renewable energy sources are of fundamental importance in both economic and environmental terms. After gradually increasing the percentage of biodiesel in diesel mixture, since 2008, Brazil has reached the goal of distributing B5 (5% of biodiesel in diesel) and has become the fourth major world biodiesel producer with production only for the domestic market. The success of biodiesel implementation in Brazil is not only due to the signicant production performance but also because the Biodiesel National Program incentivizes small and medium producers to cultivate the raw materials and to spread those materials across the country, keeping the population in the country and increasing the familiar income. Aside from diversication, the government has also foreseen biodiesel as an alternative to reduce the Brazilian dependence on diesel import for 10% of domestic diesel consumption [4].
* Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +55 51 3717 7545. E-mail address: rosana@unisc.br (Rosana de Cassia de Souza Schneider). 0016-2361/$ - see front matter 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2010.07.025

Previous studies conducted by the ministries of the Federal Government, such as the Agrarian Development Ministry, the Ministry of Agricultural, Livestock and Supply, the City Ministry and the National Integration Ministry, have shown that, in Brazil, every 1% of diesel substituted by biodiesel produced in family farms can create 45,000 jobs in the countryside. This number increases to 180,000 when taking into consideration that for one new job in the countryside, three jobs are generated in city [5]. In Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, for example, biodiesel is typically produced from soybean oil [6,7]. Studies exploring the use of other oils, such as sunower oil and canola oil, are in progress. In the Vale do Rio Pardo region, where agriculture focuses on tobacco farming, diversication of renewable energy sources is also important. Currently, the region is inuenced by the 2006 Decree 5658 [8] aiming at preventing and reducing tobacco use and adopted by member countries of the World Health Organization. Such laws affecting regional agricultural production have taken into effect since 2005 and are also present in other Latin American and Caribbean countries [9]. This re-allocation of agricultural resources has led to partial substitution of tobacco farming by sunower cultivation for biodiesel production in this particular area. Biodiesel is obtained by transesterication, in which the alkyl group of an ester is replaced through interaction between the triacylglycerol of oils (or fats) and an alcohol. This fuel can then be used in compression engines, such as the engines using diesel fuels. The transformation of vegetable oils into methyl esters occurs in the presence of a catalyst. The catalyst can be basic,

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acidic, or enzymatic, and the type of catalyst depends on the properties of raw materials and reaction conditions [1014]. The feedstock for biodiesel production can be seed oils, such as sunower [15], soybean, castor, and rapeseed [16], palm [1719] or animal fats [20]. The use of waste oils and fats for biodiesel production is currently being extensively studied [2124]. Biodiesel has physicochemical characteristics very similar to fossil fuels, suggesting that it can be used without causing motor damage. Some of these characteristics, such as density, dynamic viscosity, cetane number and surface tension, inuence combustion steps [25]. Recently, studies have been conducted to understand the performance characteristics of biodiesel fuel engines and biodiesel production technology [2629]. In terms of environmental impact, biodiesel reduces the atmospheric emission of particulate material (PM), hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO) and sulfur oxides (SOx) when used in a pure form or in combination with diesel [3033]. The B20 mixture of soybean biodiesel (20%) in diesel was used in the captive eet for emission evaluation. The results demonstrated that an 18% reduction in opacity was achievable by using B20 instead of pure diesel [34]. Studies on B2, B5 and B20 produced with 2%, 5% and 20% biodiesel from castor oil showed that the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emissions were reduced by 2.7%, 6.3% and 17.2%, respectively, when used in a cycle diesel engine [35]. There have also been studies examining the energy use and total CO2 emission over the course of biodiesel production [3638]. However, some problems have been observed with the use of biodiesel, such as wear on engine parts and contamination in some engine elements [39]. Another study [40] found that biodiesel with a high viscosity and a low cetane index produced more atmospheric emissions than others. One important way to evaluate the wear in engine mobile parts with the use of biodiesel is to analyze the lubricant oil before and after a large period of biodiesel use. Additionally, it is necessary to evaluate various engine parts, including rings, pistons and cylinders, and carbon formation, as well as resin or gum in the injection system and in the combustion chamber. Demirbas [41] and Sharma et al. [42] have highlighted that, compared to the other parts, the engine injection system may suffer greater damage, such as solid deposits, polymer formation, corrosion and soap deposits, with biodiesel use. Kegl [43] has assessed the injection of a mixture (diesel/biodiesel) to evaluate the emission impact and concluded that it is possible to reduce the emission when the engine is used appropriately. Li et al. [44] have presented that the fuel consumption rates of pure biodiesel can be 818% higher than those of conventional fuels because the heating value of biodiesel is less than that of diesel fuel (No. 0). Most of those tests were performed in big diesel engines found in tractors, buses and trucks. The smallest production scale previously examined in terms of production equipment was 50 L. That research was conducted in Thailand [45] using microtractor biodiesel from waste cooking oil, animal fat, coconut and palm oil that are abundant feedstocks in the region. Shahid and Jamal [46] related several papers in which biodiesel produced from different oleaginous plants was used in agricultural activities. One example was the Pakistan biodiesel produced from cotton oil of which the methyl ester properties are very similar to the diesel properties; in a long-term test using a proportion of 70% of biodiesel in a diesel fuel blend, the engine was successfully functioning for 850 h with neither apparent signs of wear nor contamination of lubricating oil. Rashid et al. [47] explored the possibility of using indigenous Moringa oleifera from sub-Himalayan regions in northwest India, Africa, Arabia, Southeast Asia, the Pacic and Caribbean Islands and South America as a potential source of biodiesel fuel, and they compared it

with other biodiesel fuels, suggesting that it is an acceptable substitute for petrodiesel. Another important study is accomplished by Sarantopoulos et al. [48] in which they constructed a pilot plant for community-based installation including a batch reactor with a biodiesel production capacity of 180 L and a maximum of four batches daily, using palm oil and others feedstocks. This study demonstrated the potential use of this equipment in producing energy in African poor regions although further studies are required. Three matters have been individually highlighted in those initiatives: the prevalence of the production, the use of biodiesel in rural area, and the biodiesel properties and quality when using alternative feedstocks. Initiatives investigating all those three matters in one study are important to evaluate the biodiesel production potentiality for personal consumption and application in small farms. In the present work, we aimed to evaluate the production and use of biodiesel in a family farm for personal consumption by investigating the adequacy of the equipment for this activity, biodiesel quality, and consequences of biodiesel use in microtractors. Sunower oil was chosen for biodiesel production because there was a program to introduce this culture as a productive alternative for tobacco in the studied region. To this end, a small-scale pilot plant with a projected capacity of 40200 L biodiesel per day was constructed.

2. Materials and methods 2.1. Oil production The oil used for biodiesel production was obtained from sunower seeds collected in 23 experimental crops in the Vale do Rio Pardo region, RS, Brazil. The oil was extracted by pressing and ltered afterwards (Scottech, ERT60). The extraction efciency was 33 5% (m/m). The obtained oil exhibited an acid value of 1.5 0.3 mg g1 KOH, a water content of 870 207 mg kg1 and an iodine index of 108130 g I2/100 g oil.

2.2. Biodiesel production: pilot plant processing In the agricultural crops, crude or rened sunower oil (50 L), catalyst and methanol were placed in a reactor. After the reaction, the methyl esters were separated from the glycerol by settling for 45 min and puried by acidic washing and adsorption with silica. Preliminary studies using experimental factorial design were performed to optimize the variables that determine the oil conversion to biodiesel. The sunower transesterication was achieved by alkaline catalysis with sodium methoxy from Rodhia (Brazil) at an oil/ methanol ratio of 1/6. The reaction lasted for 1 h at 65 C with strong agitation. The equipment was built based on the previous report from Leevijit et al. [49]; it produced 40200 L biodiesel per day as shown in Fig. 1. It consisted of the following parts: a reactor containing 50 L of oil with heating and mechanic agitation capabilities; a catalyst dissolution tank containing alcohol and the catalyst for addition into the reaction environment, a decanter, an adsorption tank and a lung tank. During biodiesel production, the steps were as follows: reaction, decantation, glycerin separation, residual alcohol recuperation, biodiesel washing, biodiesel drying through adsorption and biodiesel and glycerin storage. Energy consumption was monitored by the operator during all biodiesel production steps before and after thermal isolation using berglass cloth (25 mm thickness). Energy consumption was

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Fig. 1. Biodiesel processing ow sheet.

measured using a static three-phase, four-wire energy meter with the accuracy of 0.1 kWh. 2.3. Biodiesel characterization The biodiesel was analyzed in relation to the following parameters: visual aspect, relative density, cold lter plugging point (NBR 14747, specic equipment of a laboratory certied by ANP), oxidative stability (EN 14112, specic equipment of a laboratory certied by ANP), copper corrosion (NBR 14359, equipment for copper strip Tarnish Test, Lactea), kinematic viscosity (NBR 10441, equipment for transparent and opaque liquids, Quimis), water content (NBR 11348, the Karl Fischer equipment, Quimis), sulfated ash (NBR 6294, specic equipment of a laboratory certied by ANP), and carbon residue (EN 10370, the Micro Chem ll equipment, BBI Source Scientic); Ca, Na, K and Mg content measured by inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy (EN 14538, specic equipment of a laboratory certied by ANP), fatty acid methyl ester content measured by gas chromatography with mass spectroscopy (GCMS) (EN 14103, Shimadzu QP 2010 plus), methanol content measured by GCMS (NBR 15343, QP 2010 plus), mono-, di- and tri-acylglycerol content measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) (Shimadzu 20A Prominence, detector SPD-M20A) and free and total glycerin content measured by HPLC (EN 14105, Shimadzu 20A Prominence, detector SPD-M20A). All the procedures were performed according to the norms and limits established by ANP. 2.4. Field assays Three diesel/biodiesel formulations (B2, B20 and B100) were used for biodiesel evaluation in three Tramontini microtractors model GN 18 equipped with a monocylinder, horizontal, fourstroke engine, an electric start, a direct fuel injection system fueled by a mechanic pump, and a cooling system with a sealed radiator

with nominal potency of 15 HP and 2200 rpm. Each microtractor was fueled with a different biodiesel formulation and subjected to normal use in three family farms. Cold start, excessive vibration, components, injection and compression system wear were evaluated in the microtractors. The equipment had been previously used for 600 h in plantation tobacco activities, such as transportation, soil preparation, planting, culture care, and harvesting. The duration of the eld assays was one year. 2.4.1. Lubricant oil spectroscopic analysis A volume of 3.5 L lubricant oil (SAE 15w40) was sampled for a baseline evaluation before starting the test. Samples were collected after each 100-h interval of the microtractor use. A Nicolet Magna 550 FTIR spectrophotometer with a 4 cm1 resolution and 32 scans was used for measuring lubricant oil samples when they were obtained. The triplicate spectra were recorded by applying the lubricant oil sample on the surface of a Pike horizontal attenuated total reectance (HATR) sample-handling accessory with ZnSe crystal [50]. 2.4.2. Engine evaluation The microtractors used in the tests had previously been in use for over 600 h; therefore, an initial wear in their mechanical components had been present resulting from natural use of diesel in the engines. Taking into consideration the initial wear, before starting the test, the microtractors were adjusted by the manufacturer to eliminate any discrepancy between the microtractors due to their previous use, thus avoiding artifacts resulting from potential problems in individual microtractors such as fuel contamination in the engines. The following engine parts were replaced: Injector pump element. Injector pump pressure control valve.

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Injector element. Fuel lter. Injector pump seal. Headstock seal. Valve cover seals. Escape collector seal. Admission collector seal. Lubricant oil.

Table 1 Characterization of the sunower biodiesel initially produced in family farms. Assays Crude sunower biodiesel Limpid and impurities free 0.5 885.4 0.04 11 164 1143 5.241 0.9 96 0.02 0.3 0.7 1 1.3 Rened sunower biodiesel Limpid and impurities free 2.7 881.5 0 12 89 1496 4.979 1.36 96.5 0,0 0.5 0.1 0.6 0.1 Specication

Visual aspect Oxidative stability 110 C; h Relative density 20 C (kg/m3) Carbon residue (%) Cold lter plugging point; C Flash point (C) Water content (mg/ kg) Cinematic viscosity (mm2/s) (cSt) Alcohol (%) Fatty acid methyl esters (%) Free glycerin (%) Monoacylglyceride (%) Diacylglyceride (%) Triacylglyceride (%) Acid value (mg KOH/g)

Limpid and impurities free 6 (min) 850900 0.05 (max) 19 100 (min) 500 (max) 3.06.0 0,2 (max) 96,5 (min) 0,02 (max) To write To write To write 0.5

Aside from these substitutions, the microtractors also underwent injection system service, headstock and collector cleaning and repair, admission and escape valve tuning and injection point adjustment. We photo-documented the microtractor engines before and after the services were performed by the manufacturer to characterize the initial condition of the engines. After applying the diesel/biodiesel mixture to the microtractors, their fuel compression and injection systems were analyzed both visually and metrologically. Additionally, the performance of oil lter, injector, piston top, combustion chamber, rings and cylinder was also assessed. The microtractors were evaluated after each use period of 200 h. This time amount represented the average use time of the equipment for each tobacco crop rotation. The degree of carbonization was determined by weighing the extracted residues from the pistons and headstocks of the valves. The injection system was evaluated by a leak test and a pressure test. During the processes of the eld assays, the fuel mixtures were prepared in volumetric proportions in the university laboratory. After the preparation, the fuel was periodically provided to the farmers in 2-week intervals. The evaluation of engine and lubricant oil contamination was performed in the visual and metrological analysis of the compression and fuel injection systems. The engine carbonization level was evaluated by scrapping the cylinder head and headstock valve. The scraped material was weighted to ensure the comparability among the three microtractors.

3. Results and discussion 3.1. Biodiesel production 3.1.1. Pilot plant processing and biodiesel characterization Sunower biodiesel was produced from batches of 50 L of crude sunower oil in the pilot plant; for comparison, biodiesel was also produced from rened sunower oil. For the transesterication reaction, the pilot plant was optimized to work in line and to produce 50 L/day. The biodiesel characterization results demonstrated that most of the parameters were within the limits established by ANP (Table 1). The properties of the biodiesel from crude sunower oil, including oxidative stability, water content, alcohol content, acid value and acylglycerol content, were different than expected. The discrepancies were related to feedstock and equipment conguration. Solutions such as product purication and alcohol removal were proposed to reduce these product processing problems. However, in the present study, it was not possible to treat the feedstock because of additional equipment requirements that would be costinhibitive for the family farms. Modications to the processing equipment included installation of a heat exchanger and an alternative cooling tower to reduce water consumption. These modications resulted in improved alcohol removal efciency. To reduce the sunower biodiesel acid value, the oil was subjected to the transesterication reaction immediately after extracted from the seeds. It was not possible

to improve oxidative stability; therefore, the biodiesel was used in the microtractors immediately after production. Due to the fact that vegetable oils, including sunower oil, have a high unsaturated fatty acid content, oxidative stability is important, especially when it is necessary to store the oil prior to use [51]. Regarding the production for personal consumption, this problem can be avoided by immediate use or by adding synthetic antioxidants. The oil extraction and biodiesel production must be accomplished on an as-needed basis. When the feedstock contains water and free fatty acids (FFA), problems such as soap formation and a decrease in the yield of methyl esters can occur [41]. Consequently, these factors might cause problems in the engines that use biodiesel derived from this feedstock. To avoid these potential problems in engines, water and FFA contamination must not be neglected when biodiesel is obtained for personal consumption. Therefore, before using the biodiesel in the microtractors, water was removed by adsorption. A silica purication step was performed after acidic washing. The parameters of crude sunower biodiesel after optimization of the processing procedures were as follows: the acid value of 0.4 0.2%, the water content of 480 80 mg/kg and the methanol content of 0.2 0.1%. A more complex production process is required to improve the biodiesel quality produced in family farms. It is important to ensure adequate quality of the biodiesel to avoid damage to the equipment used in family farms.

3.1.2. Pilot plant processing and energy consumption In pilot plant processing, the energy consumption in the biodiesel production steps was mainly associated with reaction temperature and alcohol removal temperature. The steps for biodiesel production using optimized equipment that were evaluated for energy consumption were as follows: the movement of oil to the reactor using the centrifuge pump; the electric resistance of pre-heated oil in the reactor; the addition of the catalyst and alcohol by gravitational force; the maintenance of agitation and constant temperature during the transesterication

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A.F. Porte et al. / Fuel 89 (2010) 37183724 Table 2 Measures of the intern components of engines in microtractors with biodiesel (B2, B20 and B100). Components Measures (mm) B100 Cylinder jacket Piston Space (ring tips) 100.02 99.85 0.80 B20 100.04 99.85 0.80 B2 100.01 99.90 0.65 Standard 100.00 99.90 0.300.50

reaction; glycerol decantation and separation; alcohol removal from the heat exchanger; acidic washing; biodiesel decantation; and purication of the biodiesel by adsorption with 1% silica (Oil Dry Corporation), decantation, pressing ltration and storage. Energy consumption was caused by the use of electric resistance, the engine used to agitate and the electric pump for material transfer within the equipment. The results are presented in Fig. 2. Once the alcohol was removed by distillation from the heat exchanger, we had increased energy consumption associated with greater water consumption. To reduce this waste, a cooling tower was built. Additionally, the thermal isolation of the equipment minimized energy consumption: it reduced the energy requirement for the reaction and alcohol removal by 45%. The small-scale equipment developed in the present study is different from other small-scale plants because of its economic energy consumption. According to Stephenson et al. [52], the direct electricity required for biodiesel production in a small-scale production processing plant was 82.5 MJ for 100 kg, corresponding to 130% higher energy consumption than that was expended by our equipment for the same feedstock weight.

Table 3 Carbon mass deposit in the engine components. Fuel B2 B20 B100 Carbon mass (g) 1.532 1.606 1.923

3.2. Field assays Throughout the eld assays using biodiesel produced in our prototype, only the microtractor with B100 exhibited cold starting problems. This was especially inconvenient during the harsh winter in South Brazil (MayAugust) when the temperature was very low. Possible solutions could include the use of a pre-heating system for the biodiesel, such as the one developed by Holt and Hooker [53] using cottonseed oil in the engine, or the use of a diesel/ biodiesel mixture, such as B20, which was effective in the present study. After 200 h of eld assays, the internal systems of the microtractors were analyzed. All injector peaks exhibited normal pulverization, and no leak was detected in the leak test. According to Villarreyes et al. [25], the kinematic viscosity is important for vaporization and pulverization in the combustion chamber. In the present study, the biodiesel used in the eld assays exhibited the kinematic viscosities of 36 mm2/s adjusted to B100 specications. We observed a change in the shape of the line in the piston of the fuel injector pump. Corra et al. [54] proposed that water contamination in biodiesel can be responsible for this effect by decreasing the lubrication in the high-pressure region. A wider space between ring tips was also observed (Table 2). On one hand, water can cause corrosion in components such as pumps, nozzles and pipes because it reduces the combustion heat, produces more smoke, makes it more difcult to start the engine and, therefore, decreases engine power [41].

On the other hand, the space between ring tips could result from compression loss, combustion efciency reduction or greater lubricant oil consumption. Additionally, honing loss was observed in the cylinder jacket in the B100-microtractor. This problem was related to sliding wear, similar to surface polishing. It can occur under the conditions that hydrodynamic pressure is not capable of keeping the surfaces separated, and consequently part of the load is supported by contact between these surfaces. The observed honing loss indicates decient lubrication that can degrade lubricant oil and be responsible for the observed space between rings [39]. Thus, biodiesel containing signicant water contamination might increase deterioration of the jacket cylinder due to reduced lubrication. Minor contamination of the fuel lter was observed in the B100 microtractor. Fuel lter contamination was not seen in the B2 or B20 mixtures. These results demonstrated that the biodiesel quality was good, and the minor fuel lter contamination could be due to decreased oxidative stability because it might have occurred during the formation of resinous products [55]. There was little carbonization in the engine components (piston, headstock valves and injection nuzzle). As listed in Table 3, the carbon mass values were not high enough to interfere with engine performance. The carbon residue analysis of the biodiesel correlates with carbon residue in the engine, and it is an important indicator of several operational problems in engines [55,56]. Reid et al. [57] demonstrated, through engine tests, that carbon deposits in the engine can be reduced by heating the fuel prior to combustion. In comparison to B2 and B20, B100 generated more carbon residues. Importantly, the obtained carbon residues could be due to

Fig. 2. Energy consumption in the steps of biodiesel production.

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The main methyl ester signals were from C@O in 1750 1725 cm1 and tOCC in 11601050 cm1. The acylglycerols and methyl esters show similar signals; therefore, if the biodiesel contained non-converted oil, it would not be identied by infrared spectroscopy. In the other spectral regions, there was overlap of the signals from lubricant oil and biodiesel. Therefore, to evaluate biodiesel contamination in the lubricant oil, we analyzed the carbonyl (C@O) absorption peak [63] in the spectrum of lubricant oil as shown in Fig. 3. According to Silva [64], mixtures with up to 10% biodiesel content do not cause signicant changes in lubricant oil physicochemical properties. Additionally, the contamination of the lubricant oil by biodiesel can be avoided simply by frequently changing the oil. 4. Conclusions The equipment developed for biodiesel production was tested and specically optimized for small-scale production and personal consumption in family farms. The design aspects were modied to obtain high-quality biodiesel and low energy consumption. The produced biodiesel exhibited the characteristics similar to those established by ANP. According to the results, we concluded that, under personal consumption conditions, it is possible to use B100 (pure biodiesel) in microtractors in family farms even though the engine consumption was greater with pure biodiesel than that with biodiesel mixtures. This issue can be resolved by periodic maintenance. Taken together, we proposed an approach to improve biodiesel use in family farms by implementing this small-scale technology to produce high-quality biodiesel. As a consequence of the present study, there is an expectancy of biodiesel plant distribution for farmers who might use some governmental programs of lost fund nancing to buy equipment. Those national programs stimulate activities of small farming associations with social purpose, meet the need for diversication in regional agricultural production in which 23 cities take part and also contribute to reducing the fossil fuel dependence of farmers and making family farms more sustainable. Acknowledgements We gratefully acknowledge nancial support provided by SCTRS, FINEP and FAPERGS. We additionally thank CNPq and PUIC/ UNISC for scholarships given to W.L.T.S, R.A.K, and W.L.S, and the FAP/UNISC program for research support.
Fig. 3. Lubricant oil spectra after being used in the microtractors for 100, 200 and 600 h.

References
[1] Du W, Xu Y, Liu D, Zeng J. Comparative study on lipase-catalyzed transformation of soybean oil for biodiesel production with different acyl acceptors. J Mol Catal 2004;30(34):1259. [2] Martinelli M, Schneider RCS, Baldissarelli VZ, Holleben ML, Caramo EB. Castor oil hydrogenation by a catalytic hydrogen transfer system using limonene as hydrogen donor. J Am Oil Chem Soc 2005;82(4):15. [3] Martinelli M, Schneider RCS, Baldissarelli VZ, Trombeta F, Caramo EB. Optimization of gas chromatographicmass spectrometric analysis for fatty acids in hydrogenated castor oil obtained by catalytic transfer hydrogenation. J Chromatogr A 2003;985:3139. [4] Cesar AS, Batalha MO. Biodiesel production from castor oil in Brazil: a difcult reality. Energy Policy 2010. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2010.03.027. [5] Biodiesel BR. Family agriculture, employment and biodiesel social side, 2010. <http://www.biodieselbr.com/biodiesel/social/aspectos-sociais.htm>. [6] Pousa GPAG, Santos ALF, Suarez PAZ. History and policy of biodiesel in Brazil. Energy Policy 2007;35:53938. [7] Garcez CAG, Vianna JNS. Brazilian biodiesel policy: social and environmental considerations of sustainability. Energy 2009;34:64554. [8] Presidential Decree law n. 5658/2006. Brazil is a signatory of (and has ratied) the framework convention on tobacco control (FCTC). Text on June 16, 2003. <http://mre.gov.br/dai/m_5658_2006.htm>. [9] Bianco E, Champagne B, Barnoya J. The tobacco epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean: a snapshot. CVD Prevention and Control 2005;1:3117.

the fuel viscosity modied with biodiesel addition. Higher fuel viscosity increases interference with jet formation in the combustion chamber and, consequently, results in poor atomization and reduced combustion. Thus, soot formation is increased [58]. Also, the carbon residues in the engine using B100 may have increased because of the presence of residual glycerols (mono-, di-, and triacylglycerols) with a higher boiling point than biodiesel and diesel fuels [59].

3.3. Lubricant oil spectroscopic analysis Only one type of lubricant oil was used in the microtractors. The lubricant oil was analyzed by infrared spectroscopy that can determine the types and quantities of additives in engine oil [6062]. We detected the presence of chemicals indicating methyl ester contamination, as described by Zagonel et al. [63].

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