Gel point In polymer chemistry, the gel point is an abrupt change in the viscosity of a solution containing polymerizable components. At the gel point, a solution undergoes gelation as reflected in a loss in fluidity. Gelation is characteristic of polymeri ...

is the temperature at which

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engi ...

or biodiesel fuel freezes solid and can no longer flow by gravity or be pumped through fuel lines. This phenomenon happens when a fuel reaches a low enough temperature whereby enough wax crystals have formed to prevent any movement in the oil. For #2 diesel this is usually around . For the fuel to become pump able again, it needs to be brought above the gel point temperature to the Un gel point, which is typically near its pour point. However, most of the waxes will still remain in solid form and the fuel has to be warmed up further until its

Remix temperature A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

in order to completely re-melt and re-dissolve the waxes. Anti-gel additives are therefore commonly added to diesel or biodiesels where cold temperature is expected. They act to reduce the formation of wax crystals in the fuel, thereby lowering the

pour point The pour point of a liquid is the temperature below which the liquid loses its flow characteristics. It is defined as the minimum temperature in which the oil has the ability to pour down from a beaker. In crude oil a high pour point is general ...

and the gel point of the fuel. Anti-gel additives may not necessarily affect the cloud point.

References

Chemical properties {{chem-stub

See also

References