Estimation of Pure-Component Properties of Biodiesel-Related Components: Fatty Acid Methyl Esters, Fatty Acids, and Triglycerides

Common group-contribution and corresponding-state models for the estimation of normal boiling points, vapor pressures, liquid densities, and dynamic viscosities are reviewed in view of their application to fatty acid methyl esters, related fatty acids and triglycerides. Because of the limited representation of measured data for triglycerides, three previously published group-contribution models for normal boiling points, vapor pressures, and dynamic viscosities are extended through the introduction of a new group, representing the backbone structure common to all triglycerides and improving the performance of these models significantly. Conclusions are drawn in view of further refinement of the group-contribution approach for application to complex branched molecules.