Gelling temperatures for various B100 biodiesels

Posted by Krzysztof Lis on April 8, 2008

I guess after an article I wrote about biodiesel gelling, you’d be interested in more specific data about when your biodiesel will start to freeze. It depends on what is this biodiesel made from. Here’s a nice table with those temperatures.

Parameter / test method	Cloud Point / ASTM D2500	Cold Filter Plug Point / IP 309	Pour Point / ASTM D97
B100 fuel is made from:	°C / °F	°C / °F	°C / °F
Canola Methyl Ester	-3 / 26	-4 / 24	-4 / 25
Soy Methyl Ester	3 / 28	-2 / 28	-4 / 25
Yellow Grease 2 Methyl Ester	8 / 46	1 / 34	6 / 43
Lard Methyl Ester	13 / 56	11 / 52	13 / 55
Inedible Tallow Methyl Ester	16 / 61	10 / 50	15 / 59
Yellow Grease 1 Methyl Ester	-	11 / 52	9 / 48
Edible Tallow Methyl Ester	19 / 66	14 / 58	16 / 60

Now a quick reminder:
cloud point is the temperature when your biodiesel will become cloudy (because of some solid fuel crystals within the fuel),
cold filter plug point is the temperature at which there’s so much crystals in the fuel it can’t flow through your cold fuel filter,
pour point is the temperature below which you can’t pour your biodiesel or pump it from one container to another, because it is gelous.

This data comes from “Biodiesel: Handling and Use Guidelines” by U.S. Department of Energy.