Influence of biodiesel fuel on the combustion and emission formation in a direct injection (DI) diesel engine

This paper studies the influence of biodiesel fuel on the combustion and emission formation of two different direct-injected diesel engines, both employing different combustion processes. The research was focused on determining the influence of the specific combustion process on measurement results to ascertain if a generalization of the results is possible or whether they have to be interpreted as specific for specific engines. Standard D2 diesel fuel and commercial 100% biodiesel fuel were used. Tests were executed using both fuels under the same conditions, and exhaust emissions and engine performance were measured and compared. In-cylinder pressure was also acquired, and the rate of heat release curves were computed by means of a zero-dimensional, one-zone combustion model. Some macroparameters of the combustion process were obtained from the heat-release-rate curves. The results obtained for both engines showed that findings regarding the influence of biodiesel fuel on the combustion process and emission formation could not be generalized and had to be interpreted as specific for the particular engine.