The development of modern society has intensified fossil fuel consumption, resulting in the depletion of oil resources and rising greenhouse gas emissions. In this context, the promotion of renewable alternatives in the transport sector has become essential, with Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) emerging as a promising transitional fuel due to its compatibility with conventional diesel engines. To ensure proper engine operation and performance, the physical properties and chemical structure of HVO must be accurately characterized. Gas chromatography is commonly used for this purpose. While dedicated gas chromatography methods for HVO are available on specialized equipment, this study proposes a chromatographic method applicable to conventional gas chromatograph systems equipped with a flame ionization detector, enabling the analysis of HVO using commonly available laboratory equipment. The method was developed using commercially available HVO and pure n-alkanes (C5–C18) as reference compounds for component identification. The proposed approach enabled the estimation of carbon and hydrogen atom numbers in the analyzed fuel fractions and the determination of the stoichiometric air. The calculated values show good agreement with the literature data, confirming the reliability and applicability of the proposed boiling-point-based chromatographic method.
Oprea et al. (Sat,) studied this question.