Analysis of the Application of Silica Gel and Iron Powder in Fuel Tank Storage to Reduce Biodiesel Degradation Rate

This study aims to determine the effect of using silica gel and iron powder to inhibit the degradation rate of biodiesel. The method used in this study was an experiment of biodiesel storage for 8 weeks. In this research, an acid number test and bacterial TPC test will be used as a parameter to measure the degradation rate of biodiesel. From this study, it is known that the use of silica gel and iron powder can reduce the rate of degradation of biodiesel and can reduce bacterial growth. This is evidenced by decreasing the degradation rate to 46% in the use of silica gel and iron powder with composition 3.2 g / l silica gel and 2.4 g / l iron powder. while in tank 7 (control) experienced the highest increase of up to 112%. In testing TPC bacteria it is known that in tank 2 which has decreased by 99.8%. while in tank 7 there was an increase in the number of bacteria by 37.6%.