The objective of the study was to measure the corrosion rate of steel in various biodiesels and biodiesel/petroleum diesel blends using a combination of weight-loss determinations after exposure, optical examination of pitting, and electrochemical characterization.
Both soy- and animal-based biodiesels were used in the study in order to obtain test results representative of all biodiesel blends. Half of the samples contained water in order to simulate worst-case conditions. The testing was carried out to simulate typical storage tank conditions for a 12-month period. The conditions are representative of both filling stations and home heating oil tanks.