Abstract

PALMER, D.; LORENZEN, L.  and  VAN DER SPUY, S.J.. The Development of a Biofuels Engine Testing Facility. R&D j. (Matieland, Online) [online]. 2008, vol.24, pp.22-26. ISSN 2309-8988.

A biofuel-specific engine test cell was designed and implemented for future testing of the performance differences between biodiesel and mineral diesel The test cell was tested and adjusted manually until stable conditions were reached, after which an automated test was implemented. Tests were run on the following fuels: ultra low sulphur diesel (used as the base line with a maximum sulphur content of 50 ppm); B5, B10, B15 and Β50 biodiesel-diesel blends and pure biodiesel (B100). The calorific value of biodiesel was calculated using the calorific value of mineral diesel and the pure biodiesel test data. This was compared to the calorie bomb test which proved that the test cell has been calibrated correctly and provides accurate measurements. The performance of biodiesel and mineral diesel are similar despite higher fuel consumption rates for biodiesel as it has a lower calorific value. It can be concluded that the test cell performed to the required specification and that biodiesel, in terms of performance, can be considered a suitable replacement for mineral diesel without the need for engine modifications. Long term reliability tests must still be performed on biodiesel.

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