Determination of some physical and transport properties of palm oil and of its methyl esters

In this article the results of the experimental determination of a group of physical and transport properties of palm oil and of its methyl esters are presented, so as to generate reliable information for the execution of works done by chemical engineers, such as the modeling, the equipment sizing and the simulation of processes. Melting ranges, heats of fusion, boiling points, heats of combustion, were experimentally determined, and density, viscosity and heat capacity as a function of temperature were measured. The experimental values were adjusted to empirical models. In addition, density, viscosity and heat capacity as a function of temperature for three mixtures of palm oil and its methyl esters were measured, from where it was concluded that the density and heat capacity can be calculated as if the mixture would behave as ideal solutions, while the viscosity can be calculated with Andrade's model.