100,000-Mile Evaluation of Transit Buses Operated on Biodiesel Blends (B20)

Proc, K.; Barnitt, R.; Hayes, R. Robert; Ratcliff, Matthew A.; McCormick, Robert L.; Ha, Lou; Fang, Howard L.

doi:10.4271/2006-01-3253

Cited by 45 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 8 publications

(8 reference statements)

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“…Buses #1 and #2 were initially tested as part of a fleet evaluation project with the goal of measuring the effect of biodiesel usage with the actual in-use fuels [48]. Thus, these buses were tested on LSD A used by the bus company and the same fuel blended with soy biodiesel obtained from BlueSun Biodiesel and containing a proprietary multifunctional diesel additive.…”

Section: Transit Bus Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Biodiesel Blends on Vehicle Emissions: Fiscal Year 2006 Annual Operating Plan Milestone 10.4

McCormick¹,

Williams²,

Ireland³

et al. 2006

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online ordering: http://www.ntis.gov/ordering.htm Printed on paper containing at least 50% wastepaper, including 20% postconsumer waste Executive SummaryBiodiesel is a fuel-blending component produced from vegetable oils, animal fats, or waste grease by reaction with methanol or ethanol to produce methyl or ethyl esters. Pure biodiesel contains approximately 10 weight percent oxygen. It is typically blended with petroleum diesel at levels up to 20% (B20). The presence of oxygen in the fuel leads to a reduction in emissions of hydrocarbons (HC) and toxic compounds, carbon monoxide (CO), and particulate matter (PM) when biodiesel blends are burned in diesel engines. These reductions are robust and have been observed in numerous engine and vehicle testing studies. Engine dynamometer studies reviewed in a 2002 report from EPA show a 2% increase in oxides of nitrogen (NO x ) emissions for B20. This perceived small increase in NO x is leading some state regulatory agencies to consider banning the use of biodiesel. Therefore, the issue of NO x emissions is potentially a significant barrier to expansion of biodiesel markets.The objective of this study was to determine if testing entire vehicles, vs. just the engines, on a heavyduty chassis dynamometer provides a better, more realistic measurement of the impact of B20 on regulated pollutant emissions. This report also documents completion of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory We reviewed more recently published engine testing studies (Table 3) and found an average change in NO x for all recent B20 studies of -0.6%±2.0% (95% confidence intervals are used throughout this report). Restricting the average to recent studies of B20 with soy biodiesel yields an average NO x impact of 0.1%±2.7%. The EPA review also includes summary of a smaller vehicle testing dataset that shows no significant impact of biodiesel on NO x . We reviewed several recently published vehicle (chassis) testing studies (Tables 4 and 5) and found an average change in NO x of 1.2%±2.9% for B20 from soy-derived biodiesel. In addition, we reviewed three portable emissions measurement system (PEMS) studies that do not find NO x to increase.Eight heavy-duty diesel vehicles were tested, including three transit buses, two school buses, two Class 8 trucks, and one motor coach. Four met the 1998 heavy-duty emissions requirement of 4 g/bhp-h NO x and four met the 2004 limit of 2.5 g/bhp-h NO x +HC. Driving cycles that simulate both urban and freeway driving were employed. Each vehicle was tested on a petroleum-derived diesel fuel and on a 20 volume percent blend of that fuel with soy-derived biodiesel. On average B20 caused PM and CO emissions to be reduced by 16% to 17% and HC emissions to be reduced by 12% relative to petroleum diesel. Emissions of these three pollutants nearly always went down, the exception being a vehicle equipped with a diesel particle filter that showed very low emissions of PM, CO, and HC; and there was no significant change in emissions for blending of B20. The NO x impact of B20 va...

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Section: Transit Bus Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Biodiesel Blends on Vehicle Emissions: Fiscal Year 2006 Annual Operating Plan Milestone 10.4

McCormick¹,

Williams²,

Ireland³

et al. 2006

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“…Regarding the durability of engines fuelled with biodiesel/diesel-oil blends, there have been studies (Fosseen Manufacturing & Development, 1995;Ortech Corporation, 1995;Graboski and McCormick, 1998;McCormick et al, 2005;Rojas, 2008) where several problems have occurred (injector coking, filter plugging, piston-ring sticking, and engine deposits) when poor blends were used (B20, with 20% biodiesel); however, in other durability field tests, no particular problems occurred apart from filter plugging and injector coking, and engine wear was standard (Chase et al, 2000;Kearney and Benton, 2002;Proc et al, 2006). In these cases, B20, B50, and B100 blends were used.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Durability test on an agricultural tractor engine fuelled with pure biodiesel (B100)

Bietresato¹,

Friso²

2014

Turk J Agric For

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The performance of a 118-kW tractor fuelled by pure biodiesel was monitored during a long-term field experiment with\ud approximately 800 h of engine function. The objective was to demonstrate that B100, a pure biodiesel fuel, is a viable alternative to\ud traditional diesel oil in terms of long-term mechanical reliability. A bench test on the new engine, performed by attaching a test stand to\ud the power take-off of the tractor, showed an expected reduction in power (–9%) and torque (–7%) and an increase in specific consumption\ud (+13%) when biodiesel was used as a complete substitute to diesel oil. Furthermore, with the same setup, the exhaust gas had a Bosch\ud smoke index equal to 50% of the value for the same engine fuelled with diesel oil. After these initial tests, the tractor was set up for\ud normal field operations, in which both the engine curves and lubricant quality were periodically monitored. These surveys indicated\ud no significant reduction in engine performance; however, the lubricant was consequently diluted and contaminated by biodiesel, which\ud caused the lubricant properties to considerably worsen. However, on the basis of the chemical–physical analysis, reducing the oil\ud change interval from 200 h (manufacturer’s indications for the engine when operating with diesel oil) to 100 h would compensate for\ud this progressive quality decline. At the end of the trials, the engine was disassembled to check the condition of its components; wear\ud and lacquer-like coating phenomena were observed, and their levels were acceptable. The obtained results demonstrated that B100\ud can effectively substitute for diesel oil in a standard compression-ignition engine: the power change is not perceptible during normal\ud operation of a tractor, and no particular problem will arise in the engine during its life if the lubricant is changed every 100 h

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“…Also, it was found that emissions were associated with driving events. Proc et al (2006) discussed a study that evaluated nine identical transit buses where five were operated exclusively on B-20 and four operated exclusively on regular diesel for 2 yr. Over the course of the study, each bus accumulated around 100,000 miles. The buses using B-20 were compared to the buses using regular diesel.…”

Section: Biodiesel Emissionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of on-road emissions for B-0, B-10, and B-20 in transit buses

Hallmark

Qiu

2012

Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association

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Biodiesels are often marketed as being cleaner than regular diesel for emissions. Emission test results depend on the biodiesel blend, but laboratory tests suggest that biodiesels decrease particulate matter, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and air toxins when compared to regular diesel. Results for the amount of oxides of nitrogen (NO x ) have been less conclusive.Tests have also not evaluated the commonly available ranges of biodiesel blends in the laboratory. Additionally, little information is available from on-road studies, so the effectiveness of using biodiesels to reduce actual emissions is unknown. A more complex relationship exists between engine operation and the rate of emission production than is typically evaluated using engine or chassis dynamometer tests. On-road emissions can vary dramatically because emissions are correlated to engine mode. Additionally, activity such as idling, acceleration, deceleration, and operation against a grade can produce higher emissions than more stable engine operating modes. Because these modes are not well captured in a laboratory environment, understanding on-road relationships is critical in evaluating the emissions reductions that may be possible with biodiesels. More tests and quantifications of the effects of different blends on engine and vehicle performance are required to promote widespread use of biodiesel.The objective of this research was to conduct on-road tests to compare the emission impacts of different blends of biodiesel to regular diesel fuel under different operating conditions. The team conducted on-road tests that utilized a portable emissions monitoring system that was used to instrument transit buses. Regular diesel and different blends of biodiesel were evaluated during on-road engine operation by instrumenting three in-use transit buses, from the CyRide system of Ames, Iowa, along an existing transit route.Implications: This paper summarizes an evaluation of on-road emissions for regular diesel, 10% biodiesel (B-10), and 20% biodiesel (B-20) in three in-use buses. Biodiesel is attractive because it can be produced domestically and laboratory tests have suggested it can reduce HC, CO, and PM however it may contribute to increased NO x . On-road emissions however can be different from laboratory tests so results from on-road emission studies can help validate these findings. Study results show a certain amount of variability but are fairly consistent with what has been reported in the literature. Results also show that emissions are highly correlated to engine load.

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100,000-Mile Evaluation of Transit Buses Operated on Biodiesel Blends (B20)

Cited by 45 publications

References 8 publications

Effects of Biodiesel Blends on Vehicle Emissions: Fiscal Year 2006 Annual Operating Plan Milestone 10.4

Effects of Biodiesel Blends on Vehicle Emissions: Fiscal Year 2006 Annual Operating Plan Milestone 10.4

Durability test on an agricultural tractor engine fuelled with pure biodiesel (B100)

Comparison of on-road emissions for B-0, B-10, and B-20 in transit buses

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