Assessment of Engine Performance and Emissions Using Biodiesel as Fuel

Issues on energy security and climate change have prompted the shift of energy sources from fossil energy to bio-based energy. However, effects of this shift in new energy sources have not been fully understood, specially on the effect of bio-based energy on engine performance and emission.A team of researchers from Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA and College of Engineering, Nanjing Agricultural University, China attempted to provide a whole picture of the effect of the use of biodiesel on the performance and emissions on current diesel engines by using a compilation of previous studies.

In their paper, the engine performance was gauged based on three factors: (1) power performance, (2) economic performance and (3) durability. The emissions,on the other hand, where evaluated based on (1) emitted particulate matter(PM), (3) oxides of nitrogen (NOx), (3) carbon monoxide (CO), (4) hydrocarbons(HC), (5) carbon dioxide (CO₂) and (6) non-regulated emissions. Some highlights of the study are: (1) the power performance of a biodiesel-fueled engine is lower due its lower heating value, (2) an increase in fuel consumption resulted from the lower power performance, (3) the use of biodiesel favors reduced carbon deposits and reduced wear of the key engine parts, (4) PM, CO, HC, CO₂ emissions for biodiesel are significantly reduced while NOx and non-regulated emissions were observed to increase, (5) the blends of biodiesel with small content by volume could replace diesel in order to help in controlling air pollution and easing the pressure on scarce resources to a great extent without significantly sacrificing engine power and economy. The paper is published in the journal, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (URL above).