Characterisation of pre-nucleation structures and subsequent crystal growth/ phase transition processes for C16/C18 alkanes used in biofuels
Environmental concerns have led to increasing use of sustainable, bio-derived feedstocks in fuels including hydrogenated vegetable oil (consisting of C16 and C18 alkane components). Poor fuel quality can result in vehicle failures due a lack of understanding of diesel crystallisation. In particular, the initial stage of crystallisation, involving nucleation of molecules to form molecular clusters from a supersaturated solution is not fully understood. The proposed experiment will probe the structural evolution of single molecules (through dynamic evolution of the nuclei structure, such as shape and size, as a function of supersaturation) to molecular clusters through to nano-sized crystallites. The results will complement previous x-ray studies and allow accurate determination of form factors in and allow determination of prenucleation structures. This will help build a structural picture of a nucleation event, allowing elucidation of the thermodynamics and kinetics associated with solute molecule aggregation to form crystalline phases and the effect on crystal properties. The study will assist in understanding biofuel crystallisation and ways to improve cold-flow properties.
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DOWDING Peter; GRILLO Isabelle; LAI Xiaojun; ROBERTS Kevin; TANG Xue; TURNER Thomas and WILLIS Colin. (2016). Characterisation of pre-nucleation structures and subsequent crystal growth/ phase transition processes for C16/C18 alkanes used in biofuels. Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) doi:10.5291/ILL-DATA.1-04-98
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