Thermal Lens Temperature Scanning technique for evaluation of oxidative stability and time of transesterification during biodiesel synthesis

In this work, laser-induced Thermal Lens Temperature Scanning technique (TL-TS) is applied to evaluate oxidative stability and time of transesterification during biodiesel synthesis. Samples collected at different time intervals during the transesterification process of sunflower (SF) and soybean (SB) oils were submitted to fast oxidation through temperature scanning (between 22 and 190 °C), and simultaneously measured with the TL-TS technique. Temperature dependence of Thermal Lens effect amplitude showed the occurrence of oxidation, with the onset (Tonset) changing with the transesterification stages from 149 to 169 °C for sunflower and from 120 to 142 °C for soybean samples. The characteristic evolution of Tonset with reaction duration was estimated to be ∼7 min for sunflower and ∼10 min for soybean samples. The thermal diffusivity values were shown to be sensitive to rapid changes at transition temperatures, which could be related to molecular ruptures. Additional measurements were performed with DSC, TG and FTIR, to validate the information obtained by the TL-TS technique. In conclusion, the results showed the TL-TS technique as a promising tool for oxidative stability evaluation and determination of both chosen working temperature and minimal time interval for the solution to reach an optimized transesterification stage, thus contributing for reduction of costs, quality control and consequently for certification of biodiesel fuels.