| Monitoring residual methanol in B100 biodiesel is
a matter of safety since even small amounts of this material can reduce the
flash point of the biodiesel. Moreover, residual methanol can affect fuel pumps,
seals and elastomers and can result in poor combustion properties. EN 14110
requires a headspace GC method, based on either polar or non-polar columns, and
is applicable for a concentration range from 0.01% m/m to 0.5% m/m of methanol
(MeOH). The method is not applicable to mixtures of FAME that contain other low
boiling components.
This note describes the use of the Thermo
Scientific TRACE GC
UltraTM equipped with a
split/splitless (SSL) injector and flame ionization detector (FID), along
with the Thermo Scientific TriPlusTM
Headspace
Autosampler. This system allows for determination of methanol in B100 biodiesel
in full compliance with method EN 14110. The analysis of methanol by headspace
was performed using an external calibration procedure, which is preferred over
internal standard calibrations when automatic headspace equipment is
used. |
|