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Exhaust emissions and health effects of particulate matter from agricultural tractors operating on rapeseed oil methyl ester
Author(s) -
Krahl Jürgen,
Bünger Jürgen,
Schröder Olaf,
Munack Axel,
Knothe Gerhard
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of the american oil chemists' society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.512
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1558-9331
pISSN - 0003-021X
DOI - 10.1007/s11746-002-0548-9
Subject(s) - biodiesel , diesel fuel , rapeseed , particulates , biofuel , environmental science , diesel engine , vegetable oil refining , diesel exhaust , fuel oil , pulp and paper industry , air pollution , waste management , chemistry , engineering , food science , organic chemistry , automotive engineering , catalysis
Exhaust emissions and their effects on the environment and human health, such as mutagenicity of particulate matter (PM) and ozone‐forming potential, must be considered when using an alternative fuel. In the present work, a test engine and two agricultural tractors ran on rapeseed oil methyl ester (biodiesel) or conventional diesel fuel as well as blends thereof. The objective was to detect any disproportionately positive or negative effects depending on blend levels, because conventional diesel fuel and biodiesel can be blended in every ratio. Generally, emissions of regulated compounds changed linearly with the blend level. The known positive and negative effects of biodiesel varied accordingly. Overall, no optimal blend was found. Increasing biodiesel content of the fuel caused a linear increase in benzene emissions in the agricultural five‐mode engine test, an effect that may be explained from previous studies on precombustion chemistry. In using the test engine, it was found that PM from biodiesel significantly reduced mutagenic potential compared with that from diesel fuel, although in this work PM masses were found to be reproducibly higher for biodiesel from rapeseed oil compared with conventional diesel fuel. Ozone precursors increased 10–30% when using biodiesel compared with conventional diesel fuel. Emissions of aldehydes and alkenes are mainly responsible for this effect. N 2 O emissions increased when using a catalytic converter.