Determination of ecological efficiency in internal combustion engines: The use of biodiesel

This paper evaluates and quantifies the environmental impact from the use of some renewable fuels and fossils fuels in internal combustion engines. The following fuels are evaluated: gasoline blended with anhydrous ethyl alcohol (anhydrous ethanol), conventional diesel fuel, biodiesel in pure form and blended with diesel fuel, and natural gas. For the case of biodiesel, its complete life cycle and the closed carbon cycle (photosynthesis) were considered. The ecological efficiency concept depends on the environmental impact caused by CO₂, SO₂, NO_x and particulate material (PM) emissions. The exhaust gases from internal combustion engines, in the case of the gasoline (blended with alcohol), biodiesel and biodiesel blended with conventional diesel, are the less polluting; on the other hand, the most polluting are those related to conventional diesel. They can cause serious problems to the environment because of their dangerous components for the human, animal and vegetable life. The resultant pollution of each one of the mentioned fuels are analyzed, considering separately CO₂, SO₂, NO_x and particulate material (PM) emissions. As conclusion, it is possible to calculate an environmental factor that represents, qualitatively and quantitative, the emissions in internal combustion engines that are mostly used in urban transport. Biodiesel in pure form (B100) and blended with conventional diesel as fuel for engines pollute less than conventional diesel fuel. The ecological efficiency for pure biodiesel (B100) is 86.75%; for biodiesel blended with conventional diesel fuel (B20, 20% biodiesel and 80% diesel), it is 78.79%. Finally, the ecological efficiency for conventional diesel, when used in engines, is 77.34%; for gasoline, it is 82.52%, and for natural gas, it is 91.95%. All these figures considered a thermal efficiency of 30% for the internal combustion engine.     

The effect of clove oil and diesel fuel blends on the engine performance and exhaust emissions of a compression-ignition engine

Diesel engines provide the major power source for transportation in the world and contribute to the prosperity of the worldwide economy. However, recent concerns over the environment, increasing fuel prices and the scarcity of fuel supplies have promoted considerable interest in searching for alternatives to petroleum based fuels. Based on this background, the main purpose of this investigation is to evaluate clove stem oil (CSO) as an alternative fuel for diesel engines. To this end, an experimental investigation was performed on a four-stroke, four-cylinder water-cooled direct injection diesel engine to study the performance and emissions of an engine operated using the CSO–diesel blended fuels. The effects of the CSO–diesel blended fuels on the engine brake thermal efficiency, brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), specific energy consumption (SEC), exhaust gas temperatures and exhaust emissions were investigated. The experimental results reveal that the engine brake thermal efficiency and BSFC of the CSO–diesel blended fuels were higher than the pure diesel fuel while at the same time they exhibited a lower SEC than the latter over the entire engine load range. The variations in exhaust gas temperatures between the tested fuels were significant only at medium speed operating conditions. Furthermore, the HC emissions were lower for the CSO–diesel blended fuels than the pure diesel fuel whereas the NO_x emissions were increased remarkably when the engine was fuelled with the 50% CSO–diesel blended fuel.     

Biodiesel production from inedible animal tallow and an experimental investigation of its use as alternative fuel in a direct injection diesel engine

In this study, a substitute fuel for diesel engines was produced from inedible animal tallow and its usability was investigated as pure biodiesel and its blends with petroleum diesel fuel in a diesel engine. Tallow methyl ester as biodiesel fuel was prepared by base-catalyzed transesterification of the fat with methanol in the presence of NaOH as catalyst. Fuel properties of methyl ester, diesel fuel and blends of them (5%, 20% and 50% by volume) were determined. Viscosity and density of fatty acid methyl ester have been found to meet ASTM D6751 and EN 14214 specifications. Viscosity and density of tallow methyl esters are found to be very close to that of diesel. The calorific value of biodiesel is found to be slightly lower than that of diesel. An experimental study was carried out in order to investigate of its usability as alternative fuel of tallow methyl ester in a direct injection diesel engine. It was observed that the addition of biodiesel to the diesel fuel decreases the effective efficiency of engine and increases the specific fuel consumption. This is due to the lower heating value of biodiesel compared to diesel fuel. However, the effective engine power was comparable by biodiesel compared with diesel fuel. Emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen (NO_x), sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and smoke opacity were reduced around 15%, 38.5%, 72.7% and 56.8%, respectively, in case of tallow methyl esters (B100) compared to diesel fuel. Besides, the lowest CO, NO_x emissions and the highest exhaust temperature were obtained for B20 among all other fuels. The reductions in exhaust emissions made tallow methyl esters and its blends, especially B20 a suitable alternative fuel for diesel and thus could help in controlling air pollution. Based on this study, animal tallow methyl esters and its blends with petroleum diesel fuel can be used a substitute for diesel in direct injection diesel engines without any engine modification.     

非直喷式增压柴油机燃用生物柴油的性能与排放特性

研究了非直喷式增压柴油机燃用柴油一生物柴油混合燃料的性能和排放特性。未对原机作任何调整和改动，研究了不同生物柴油掺混比例的混合燃料对功率、油耗、烟度和NOx排放的影响。结果表明：非直喷式柴油机燃用生物柴油后柴油机功率略有下降，油耗有所上升，烟度大幅下降，NOx排放增加明显。油耗、烟度和NOx的变化均与生物柴油掺混比例呈线性关系，合适的生物柴油掺混比例即可以保持柴油机的性能，又可有效地降低碳烟排放，且不引起NOx排放的显著变化。对于该增压柴油机，掺混生物柴油对外特性下的排放影响最大，影响最小的为标定转速下的负荷特性。不论是全负荷还是部分负荷，燃用生物柴油时低速下的烟度降低和NOx上升幅度均比高速时大，而同转速下高负荷时烟度降低和NOx上升更为明显。     

Hydrogen addition to tea seed oil biodiesel: Performance and emission characteristics

Compression ignition engines are the dominant tools of the modern human life especially in the field of transportation. But, the increasing problematic issues such as decreasing reserves and environmental effects of diesel fuels which is the energy source of compression ignition engines forcing researchers to investigate alternative fuels for substitution or decreasing the dependency on fossil fuels. The mostly known alternative fuel is biodiesel fuel and many researchers are investigating the possible raw materials for biodiesel production. Also, hydrogen fuel is an alternative fuel which can be used in compression ignition engines for decreasing fuel consumption and hazardous exhaust emissions by enriching the fuel. In this study, influences of hydrogen enrichment to diesel and diesel tea seed oil biodiesel blends (B10 and B20) were investigated on an unmodified compression ignition engine experimentally. In consequence of the experiments, lower torque and higher brake specific fuel consumption data were measured when the engine was fuelled diesel biodiesel blends (B10 and B20) instead of diesel fuel. Also, diesel biodiesel blends increased CO₂ and NO_x emissions while decreasing the CO emissions. Hydrogen enrichment (5 l/m and 10 l/m) was improved the both torque and brake specific fuel consumption for all test fuels. Furthermore, hydrogen enrichment reduced CO and CO₂ emissions due to absence of carbon atoms in the chemical structure for all test fuels. Increasing flow rate of hydrogen fuel from 5 l/m to 10 l/m further improved performance measures and emitted harmful gases except NO_x. The most significant drawback of the hydrogen enrichment was the increased NO_x emissions.     

Physico-chemical properties of ethanol–diesel blend fuel and its effect on performance and emissions of diesel engines

The effects of different ethanol–diesel blended fuels on the performance and emissions of diesel engines have been evaluated experimentally and compared in this paper. The purpose of this project is to find the optimum percentage of ethanol that gives simultaneously better performance and lower emissions. The experiments were conducted on a water-cooled single-cylinder Direct Injection (DI) diesel engine using 0% (neat diesel fuel), 5% (E5–D), 10% (E10–D), 15% (E15–D), and 20% (E20–D) ethanol–diesel blended fuels. With the same rated power for different blended fuels and pure diesel fuel, the engine performance parameters (including power, torque, fuel consumption, and exhaust temperature) and exhaust emissions [Bosch smoke number, CO, NO_x, total hydrocarbon (THC)] were measured. The results indicate that: the brake specific fuel consumption and brake thermal efficiency increased with an increase of ethanol contents in the blended fuel at overall operating conditions; smoke emissions decreased with ethanol–diesel blended fuel, especially with E10–D and E15–D. CO and NO_x emissions reduced for ethanol–diesel blends, but THC increased significantly when compared to neat diesel fuel.     

Review of NOx reduction technologies in CI engines fuelled with oxygenated biomass fuels

Oxygenated fuels like biodiesel and alcohols have the potential to provide a reliable and a cost effective alternative to India's increasing future energy demands. They have a prospective future since they are renewable and can be produced easily in India's rural areas. Due to rapid industrialization and the increased number of vehicles on the road, the energy needs of the country are increasing rapidly. Oxygenated fuels can substantially replace the large demand for diesel to generate power for the industries and to fuel diesel engines of the vehicles. In spite of the many advantages of using them, most of the researchers have reported higher NO_x emissions, which is a deterrent to the market expansion of these fuels. The present program aims to review the NO_x emissions from the CI engines fuelled with oxygenated fuels. To meet the stringent emission norms, the various NO_x reduction technologies like use of additives, retarded fuel injection timing, biodiesel emulsion with water, and exhaust gas recirculation are reviewed. The results of the most effective and low cost technique of EGR in DI diesel engine fuelled with biodiesel–diesel blends and tri-compound oxygenated diesel fuel blends (ethanol–biodiesel–diesel fuel blends and methanol–biodiesel–diesel fuel blends) are presented.     

Exhaust emission study on neat biodiesel and alcohol blends fueled diesel engine

In this study, neat biodiesel with octanol additive was employed in a diesel engine and its effects on engine emission were studied. The five fuels evaluated were neat palm kernal oil biodiesel, octanol blended with biodiesel by 10%, 20%, and 30% volume, and diesel. All the emissions are reduced by the addition of octanol in biodiesel in all loads owing to the higher oxygen concentration of air/fuel mixtures and improved atomization. Hence, it is concluded that the neat biodiesel and octanol blends can be employed as an alternative fuel for existing unmodified diesel engines owing to its lesser emission characteristics.     

Hydrogen dual-fuelling of compression ignition engines with emulsified biodiesel as pilot fuel

Dual-fuel compression ignition (CI) engine operation with hydrogen is a promising method of using hydrogen gas in CI engines via high-cetane pilot fuel ignition. However, hydrogen dual-fuel operation with neat pilot fuels typically produce: high NO_x emissions; and high combustion chamber pressure rise rates (leading to increased “Diesel knock” tendencies). While water-in-fuel emulsions have been used during normal CI engine operation to cool the charge and slow combustion rates in an effort to reduce NO_x emissions, these water-in-fuel emulsions have not been tested as pilot fuels during hydrogen dual-fuel combustion. In this work two water-in-biodiesel emulsions are tested as pilot fuels during hydrogen dual-fuel operation. Hydrogen dual-fuel operation generally produces at best comparable thermal efficiencies compared with normal CI engine operation, while the emulsified biodiesel pilot fuels generally increase thermal efficiencies when compared with the neat biodiesel pilot fuel during dual-fuel operation. There is also a clear reduction in NO_x emissions with emulsified pilot fuel use compared with the neat pilot fuel. The thermal efficiency increase is more apparent at higher engine speeds, while the NO_x reduction is more apparent at lower speeds. This is due to two conflicting effects (exclusive to emulsified pilot fuel) that occur in tandem. The first is the cooling effect of water vapourisation on the charge, while the second is the microexplosion phenomenon which enhances fuel-air mixing. The NO_x emission reduction is due to the emulsified pilot fuel lowering pressure rise rates compared with the neat pilot fuel, while the efficiency increase is due to a more homogeneous charge resulting from the violent microexplosion of the emulsified pilot fuel. Smoke, CO, HC and CO₂ emissions remain comparable to neat pilot fuel tests. Overall, emulsified pilot fuels can reduce NO_x emissions and increase thermal efficiencies, however not at the same instance and under different operating conditions. The general trends of reduced power output, reduced CO₂ and increased water vapour emission during hydrogen dual-fuel operation (with neat pilot fuels) are also maintained.     

Study of antioxidant effect on oxidation stability and emissions in a methyl ester of neem oil fuelled DI diesel engine

Biodiesel as an alternative diesel fuel prepared from vegetable oils or animal fats has attracted more and more attention because of its renewable and environmental-friendly nature. But biodiesel undergoes oxidation and degenerate more quickly than mineral diesel. Further several studies report NO_x emissions increases for biodiesel fuel compared with conventional diesel fuel. In this paper, the experimental investigation of the effect of antioxidant additive (Butylated hydroxytoluene) on oxidation stability and NO_x emissions in a methyl ester of neem oil fuelled direct injection diesel engine has been reported. The antioxidant additive is mixed in various proportions (100–400 ppm) with methyl ester of neem oil. The oxidation stability was tested in Rancimat apparatus and emissions, performance in a computerized 4-stroke water-cooled single cylinder diesel engine of 3.5 kW rated power. Results show that the antioxidant additive is effective in increasing the oxidation stability and in controlling the NO_x emissions of methyl ester of neem oil fuelled diesel engines.     

Biodiesel,emulsified biodiesel and dimethyl ether as pilot fuels for natural gas fuelled engines

Dual-fuelling in compression–ignition (CI) engines is a mode of combustion where a small pilot injection of high-cetane fuel (i.e. diesel) ignites a premixed high-octane fuel (i.e. methane) and air mixture. This allows conventional CI engines to lower their emissions of smoke and nitrogen oxides (NO_x)$({\text{NO}}_x)$ while maintaining their high thermal efficiencies. However, poor ignitability of the main fuel–air charge results in increased emissions of unburnt hydrocarbons (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO). Conventional pilot fuels such as diesel and biodiesel (methyl esters transesterified from raw plant oil) have been researched extensively in prior work, showing that in terms of performance and emissions they perform fairly similarly. This is because the physical, chemical and combustion properties of various methyl esters are comparable to those of conventional diesel. In order to reduce these emissions of HC and CO, alternative pilot fuels need to be considered. As fuels employed during normal CI engine operation, both dimethyl ether (DME, a gaseous CI engine fuel) and water-in-fuel emulsions (conventional biodiesel mixed with varying concentrations of water) have shown that they reduce smoke and _NOx${\mathrm{NO}}_x$ emissions significantly, while improving combustion quality. In this work, the performance of DME and water-in-biodiesel emulsions as pilot fuels was assessed. It was seen that the water-in-biodiesel emulsions did not perform as well as expected, as increased HC and CO emissions coupled with a mild change in _NOx${\mathrm{NO}}_x$ levels was encountered (compared to conventional pilot fuel, in this case neat biodiesel). The emulsions performed very poorly as pilot fuels below a certain BMEP threshold. DME, while producing higher levels of HC and CO than neat biodiesel, managed to reduce _NOx${\mathrm{NO}}_x$ significantly compared to neat biodiesel. Emissions of HC and CO, while higher than neat biodiesel, were not as high as levels seen with the emulsions. Thermal efficiency levels were generally maintained with the liquid pilot fuels, with the DME pilot producing comparatively lower levels.     

Effect of induction on exhaust gas recirculation and hydrogen gas in compression ignition engine with simarouba oil in dual fuel mode

Biofuels extracted from non-edible oil is sustainable and can be used as an alternative fuel for internal combustion engines. This study presents the performance, emission and combustion characteristic analysis by using simarouba oil (obtained from Simarouba seed) as an alternative fuel along with hydrogen and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) in a compression ignition (CI) engine operating on dual fuel mode. Simarouba biofuel blend (B20) was prepared on volumetric basis by mixing simarouba oil and diesel in the proportion of 20% and 80% (v/v), respectively. Hydrogen gas was introduced at the flow rate of 2.67 kg/min, and EGR concentration was maintained at 30% of total air introduction. Performance, combustion and emission characteristics analysis were examined with biodiesel (B20), biodiesel with hydrogen substitution and biodiesel, hydrogen with EGR and were compared with neat diesel operation. Results indicate that BTE of the engine operating with biodiesel B20 was decreased when compared to neat diesel operation. However, introducing hydrogen along with B20 blend into the combustion chamber shows a slight increase in the BTE by 1%. NO_x emission was increased to 18.13% with the introduction of hydrogen than that of base fuel (diesel) operation. With the introduction of EGR, there is a significant reduction in NO_x emission due to decrease in in-cylinder temperature by 19.07%. A significant reduction in CO, CO_2, and smoke emissions were also noted with the introduction of both hydrogen and EGR. The ignition delay and combustion duration were increased with the introduction of hydrogen, EGR with biodiesel than neat diesel operation. Hence, the proposed biodiesel B20 with H₂ and EGR combination can be applied as an alternative fuel in CI engines.     

Performance, emission and economic assessment of clove stem oil–diesel blended fuels as alternative fuels for diesel engines

In this study the performance, emission and economic evaluation of using the clove stem oil (CSO)–diesel blended fuels as alternative fuels for diesel engine have been carried out. Experiments were performed to evaluate the impact of the CSO–diesel blended fuels on the engine performance and emissions. The societal life cycle cost (LCC) was chosen as an important indicator for comparing alternative fuel operating modes. The LCC using the pure diesel fuel, 25% CSO and 50% CSO–diesel blended fuels in diesel engine are analysed. These costs include the vehicle first cost, fuel cost and exhaust emissions cost. A complete macroeconomic assessment of the effect of introducing the CSO–diesel blended fuels to the diesel engine is not included in the study. Engine tests show that performance parameters of the CSO–diesel blended fuels do not differ greatly from those of the pure diesel fuel. Slight power losses, combined with an increase in fuel consumption, were experienced with the CSO–diesel blended fuels. This is due to the low heating value of the CSO–diesel blended fuels. Emissions of CO and HC are low for the CSO–diesel blended fuels. NO_x emissions were increased remarkably when the engine was fuelled with the 50% CSO–diesel blended fuel operation mode. A remarkable reduction in the exhaust smoke emissions can be achieved when operating on the CSO–diesel blended fuels. Based on the LCC analysis, the CSO–diesel blended fuels would not be competitive with the pure diesel fuel, even though the environmental impact of emission is valued monetarily. This is due to the high price of the CSO.     

Experimental investigation of control of NOx emissions in biodiesel-fueled compression ignition engine

Biodiesel is an alternative fuel consisting of the alkyl esters of fatty acids from vegetable oils or animal fats. Vegetable oils are produced from numerous oil seed crops (edible and non-edible), e.g., rapeseed oil, linseed oil, rice bran oil, soybean oil, etc. Research has shown that biodiesel-fueled engines produce less carbon monoxide (CO), unburned hydrocarbon (HC), and particulate emissions compared to mineral diesel fuel but higher NO_x emissions. Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is effective to reduce NO_x from diesel engines because it lowers the flame temperature and the oxygen concentration in the combustion chamber. However, EGR results in higher particulate matter (PM) emissions. Thus, the drawback of higher NO_x emissions while using biodiesel may be overcome by employing EGR. The objective of current research work is to investigate the usage of biodiesel and EGR simultaneously in order to reduce the emissions of all regulated pollutants from diesel engines. A two-cylinder, air-cooled, constant speed direct injection diesel engine was used for experiments. HCs, NO_x, CO, and opacity of the exhaust gas were measured to estimate the emissions. Various engine performance parameters such as thermal efficiency, brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), and brake specific energy consumption (BSEC), etc. were calculated from the acquired data. Application of EGR with biodiesel blends resulted in reductions in NO_x emissions without any significant penalty in PM emissions or BSEC.     

The effects of turbocharger on the performance and exhaust emissions of a diesel engine fuelled with biodiesel

This paper investigates the effects of turbocharger on the performance of a diesel engine using diesel fuel and biodiesel in terms of brake power, torque, brake specific consumption and thermal efficiency, as well as CO and NO_x emissions. For this aim, a naturally aspirated four-stroke direct injection diesel engine was tested with diesel fuel and neat biodiesel, which is rapeseed oil methyl ester, at full load conditions at the speeds between 1200 and 2400 rpm with intervals of 200 rpm. Then, a turbocharger system was installed on the engine and the tests were repeated for both fuel cases. The evaluation of experimental data showed that the brake thermal efficiency of biodiesel was slightly higher than that of diesel fuel in both naturally aspirated and turbocharged conditions, while biodiesel yielded slightly lower brake power and torque along with higher fuel consumption values. It was also observed that emissions of CO in the operations with biodiesel were lower than those in the operations with diesel fuel, whereas NO_x emission in biodiesel operation was higher. This study reveals that the use of biodiesel improves the performance parameters and decreases CO emissions of the turbocharged engine compared to diesel fuel.     

Effect of ethanol blending with biodiesel on engine performance and exhaust emissions in a CI engine

The use of biodiesel as an alternative diesel engine fuel is increasing rapidly. However, due to technical deficiencies, they are rarely used purely or with high percentages in unmodified diesel engines. Therefore, in this study, we used ethanol as an additive to research the possible use of higher percentages of biodiesel in an unmodified diesel engine. Commercial diesel fuel, 20% biodiesel and 80% diesel fuel, called here as B20, and 80% biodiesel and 20% ethanol, called here as BE20, were used in a single cylinder, four strokes direct injection diesel engine. The effect of test fuels on engine torque, power, brake specific fuel consumption, brake thermal efficiency, exhaust gas temperature, and CO, CO₂, NO_x and SO₂ emissions was investigated. The experimental results showed that the performance of CI engine was improved with the use of the BE20 especially in comparison to B20. Besides, the exhaust emissions for BE20 were fairly reduced.     

Oxides of nitrogen emissions from biodiesel-fuelled diesel engines

Biodiesel has received, and continues to receive, considerable attention for its potential use as an augmenting fuel to petroleum diesel. Its advantages include decreased net carbon dioxide, hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter emissions, and fuel properties similar to petroleum diesel for ease of use in diesel engines. Its disadvantages include poorer cold flow characteristics, lower heating values, and mostly reported higher emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NO_x = NO + NO₂, where NO is nitric oxide and NO₂ is nitrogen dioxide). This latter disadvantage (i.e., higher emissions of oxides of nitrogen) is the focus of this review article. NO_x formation mechanisms are complex and affected by several different features (e.g., size, operating points, combustion chamber design, fuel system design, and air system design) of internal combustion engines. The slight differences in properties between biodiesel and petroleum diesel fuels are enough to create several changes to system and combustion behaviors of diesel engines. Combined, these effects lead to several complex and interacting mechanisms that make it difficult to fundamentally identify how biodiesel affects NO_x emissions. Instead, it is perhaps better to say that several parameters seem to most strongly influence observed differences in NO_x emissions with biodiesel, thus introducing several possibilities for inconsistency in the trends. These parameters are injection timing, adiabatic flame temperature, radiation heat transfer, and ignition delay. This article provides a review of the rich literature describing these parameters, and provides additional insight into the system responses that are manifested by the use of biodiesel.     

Emission and performance characteristics of an indirect ignition diesel engine fuelled with waste cooking oil

Biofuel has so far been backed by government policies in the quest for low carbon fuel in the near future and promises to ensure energy security through partially replacing fossil fuels. At present biodiesel is mostly produced by transesterification reaction from oil-seed feedstock and has to conform to ASTM D6751 specifications. Biodiesel sustainability has sparked debate on the pros and cons of biodiesel and the question of food security. The use of waste cooking oil such as palm and coconut oil in diesel engines is more sustainable if they can perform similarly to ordinary diesel fuel (B0). This paper presents the experimental study carried out to evaluate emission and performance characteristics of a multi-cylinder diesel engine operating on waste cooking oil such as 5% palm oil with 95% ordinary diesel fuel (P5) and 5% coconut oil with 95% ordinary diesel fuel (C5). B0 was used for comparison purposes. The results show that there are reductions in brake power of 1.2% and 0.7% for P5 and C5 respectively compared with B0. In addition, reduction of exhaust emissions such as unburned hydrocarbon (HC), smoke, carbon mono-oxide (CO), and nitrogen oxides (NO_x) is offered by the blended fuels.     

Influence of fuel properties and composition on NOx emissions from biodiesel powered diesel engines: A review

Biodiesel has proved to be an environment friendly alternative fuel for diesel engine because it can alleviate regulated and unregulated exhaust emissions. However, most researchers have observed a significant increase in NO_x emissions with biodiesel when compared to petrodiesel. The exact cause of this increase is still unclear; however, researchers believe that the fuel properties have been shown to effect the emissions of NO_x. The present work reviews the effect of fuel properties and composition on NO_x emissions from biodiesel fuelled engines. The paper is organised in three sections. The first section deals with the NO_x formation mechanisms. In the following section, the reasons for increased NO_x emissions of biodiesel fuel are discussed. After this, the influence of composition and fuel properties on NO_x emissions from biodiesel fuelled engines has been reviewed. Finally, some general conclusions concerning this problem are summarised and further researches are pointed out.     

Influence of biodiesel on engine combustion and emission characteristics

This paper discusses the influence of biodiesel on the engine combustion characteristics. The considered fuel is neat biodiesel from rapeseed oil. The considered engine is a bus diesel engine with injection M system. The engine characteristics are obtained by experiments and numerical simulation. The results obtained with biodiesel are compared to those obtained with mineral diesel under various operating regimes. In this way, the influences of biodiesel usage on the injection pressure, injection timing, ignition delay, in-cylinder gas pressure and temperature, heat release rate, exhaust gas temperatures, harmful emissions, specific fuel consumption, and on engine power are analyzed. Furthermore, the relationships among fuel properties, injection and combustion characteristics, harmful emissions, and other engine performance are determined. Special attention is given to possible explanations of higher NO_x emission in spite of lower in-cylinder gas temperature.