Research study on biodiesel blends shows positive effect on environment

A joint study conducted by the Laboratory of Applied Thermodynamics at the Aristotle University Thessaloniki in Greece and Sustainable Transport Unit of the Institute for Energy and Transport at the EC-Joint Research Center concluded that biodiesel blends with up to 10% volume per volume (v/v) used in vehicles will have limited urban air quality implications. Researchers tested neat (B100) and 30% blends (B30) on two Euro 3 diesel passenger cars with different engine technologies. The vehicles were not equipped with a particulate filter. The researchers stated that different conclusions could be reached for filter-equipped vehicles. Results of the tests indicate that the influence of biodiesel on pollutant emissions depends primarily on the blending ratio, secondly on the level of unsaturation of the biodiesel fuel, and lastly, on engine technology. The researchers recommended that the saturated versus unsaturated species ratio should be carefully designed in market fuels so that the optimum environmental and operational benefits may be achieved. (August 1, 2012)