A direct route to the calculation of heating values of liquid fuels by using their density and viscosity measurements

Higher heating values (HHVs) of vegetable oils, alcohols and alkanes were determined experimentally and calculated from their density and viscosity measurements. The HHV (kJ g (-1)) of the samples was supposed to be a function of density (d, in g cm(-3)) and viscosity (mu, in mm(2) s(-1)). The equations developed for the samples represent the correlation obtained by means of regression analyses. The HHVs calculated by developing new equations using densities showed average differences of 0.04, 2.43 and 0.008% for vegetable oils, alcohols and alkanes, respectively. The correlation coefficients were 0.938, 0.674 and 0.936 for vegetable oils, alcohols and alkanes, respectively. The HHVs calculated by developing new equations using viscosities showed average differences of 0.02, 0.91, 0.05 and 0.004% for vegetable oils, alcohols, alkanes and diesel fuels, respectively. The correlation coefficients were 0.998, 0.979, 0.996 and 0.999 for vegetable oils, alcohols, alkanes and diesel fuels, respectively. The density and the viscosity are characteristic properties of liquid fuels for developing new formulae. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.