Lubricity of new Tailor-Made Fuels from Biomass

Abstract

The interactions of new biofuels and standard engine components are being investigated at the Institute for Fluid Power Drives and Controls (IFAS) at RWTH Aachen University as part of the research of the cluster of excellence "Tailor-Made Fuels from Biomass". Since modern common rail fuel pumps are fuel lubricated special interest lays on the lubricity of new fuels. At IFAS a High Frequency Reciprocating Test Rig (HFRR) is used to screen possible biofuel candidates with regard to this property. Most of these substances show lubricating abilities similar to those of modern diesel fuels. Nevertheless with 2-Methyltetrahydrofuran a remarkable outlier can be found among the favoured fuel candidates. To unravel the influences of certain molecule structures additional substances were included into the experimental research. By comparing the wear scars of linear alkanes, alkenes and alcohols produced in the HFRR the influence of the molecules chain length and functional group is analysed. This paper gives an introduction to the HFRR test set up and presents the experimental results of the recently screened biofuel candidates.

A Comparison of the Microbial Production and Combustion Characteristics of Three Alcohol Biofuels: Ethanol, 1-Butanol, and 1-Octanol

“…Refer to references a–c for optimum values. Physicochemical and combustion characteristics obtained from the following references: d Haynes ( 2012 ), e Harnisch et al ( 2013 ), f Wallner et al ( 2013 ), g Weinebeck and Murrenhoff ( 2013 ), and h Viswanath et al ( 2007 ). Physicochemical and fuel characteristics of petroleum and petrodiesel are included for comparison .…”