Biodiesel as Diesel Engine Fuel

Abstract

In recent years, the interest to use biodiesel as a substitute for mineral diesel has been increasing steadily. Biodiesel is a renewable fuel, consisting of various fatty acid methyl esters with the exact composition depending on the feedstock. This is a distinctly different composition than the hydrocarbon content of mineral diesel. In spite of that, biodiesel has many properties very close to those of mineral diesel. Consequently, the required biodiesel-related modifications of the diesel engine are typically rather minor. On the other hand, because of its different chemical character, biodiesel has several properties, which differ from those of mineral diesel just enough to offer an opportunity to reduce harmful emissions without worsening other economy and engine performances. It should be noted, however, that biodiesel properties may depend heavily on its raw materials. Biodiesel SourcesBiodiesel is derived from renewable resources, such as vegetable oils, animal fats, and waste restaurant greases. Biodiesel is an environmentally friendly alternative fuel, but typically comes at a higher price than mineral diesel (Demirbas 2008a(Demirbas , 2009). The cost of biodiesel varies in dependence on the base stock, geographic area, variability in crop production from season to season, the price of the crude petroleum, and other factors.The typical raw materials for biodiesel are oils from rapeseed,