MEASURING THE PERFORMANCE AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF FOUR-STROKE DIESEL ENGINES OPERATED ON THE SAME PLANT OIL METHYLESTER MIXTURES IN TWO LABORATORIES

Two biofuels were converted chemically to biodiesels: cottonseed oil, which was produced in Macedonia, Greece, and used frying oil which was collected in the city of Antwerp, Belgium. The conversion to biodiesels was accomplished in the Department of Industrial Sciences and Technology of the Karel de Grote-Hogeschool, Hoboken, Belgium. Mixtures of the two biodiesels with diesel were prepared as B10, B20, B30, B40, B50 and B100 (B10 means a 10 % by weight of biodiesel). These mixtures were used as fuel on two cars in the Combustion Laboratory in the Department of Industrial Sciences and Technology of the Karel de Grote-Hogeschool, Hoboken, Belgium. The two cars were a VOLVO V70 2.5 L turbo diesel and a FORD TRANSIT 2.5 L diesel. The cars were run under full load at 30, 50, 90 and 120 km/h speeds on a chassis dynamometer. The same mixtures were tested on a FORD ESCORT 1.6 L diesel in the Combustion Laboratory of the Department of Vehicles of the Technological Institution of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece at 30, 50 and 90 km/h on a chassis dynamometer.

The test results are presented from the two research laboratories as to the effect of the biodiesel mixtures upon the performance of the engine and upon the production of the exhaust gases (soot, NO_x, HC, CO, CO₂ and O₂).