Measurement of the viscosity of biodiesel by using an optical viscometer

In this paper, we report the characterization of the viscosity of biodiesel produced from jatropha curcas. The viscosity measurement has been carried out by using a modified falling ball viscometer as well as optical technology. The viscosity was measured from 28 to 70 °C, which is the interest for determining the quality of biodiesel. We found that the falling ball optical viscometer offers a resolution of a viscosity measurement of ±0.039 mPa s with a relative error of 1.47933%. The measurement process was compared with a commercial viscometer, and it has been demonstrated that the biodiesel produced in Chiapas has good quality.