Impact of Using Biodiesels of Different Origin and Additives on the Performance of a Stationary Diesel Engine

Abstract

With the exception of rape seed oil which is the principal raw material for biodiesel Fatty Acid Methyl Esters, (FAME) production, sunflower oil, corn oil, and olive oil, which are abundant in Southern Europe, along with some wastes, such as used frying oils, appear to be attractive candidates for biodiesel production. In this paper fuel consumption and exhaust emission measurements from a single cylinder, stationary diesel engine are described. The engine was fueled with fuel blends containing four different types of biodiesel, at proportions up to 100 percent; the further impact of the usage of two specific additives was also investigated. The four types of biodiesel appeared to have equal performance and irrespective of the raw material used for their production, their addition to the traditional diesel fuel improved the particulate matter emissions. The results improve further when specific additive combinations are used. [S0742-4795(00)00604-9]