RESEARCH ARTICLE

Journal of Oil Palm Research ELAEIS Special Issue, November 1995, p. 61-78

The Use Of Biofuel In Modern Diesel Engines

SCHAFER, A*

ABSTRACT

It is known the best possibility of adapting vegetable oils to the demand of existing diesel engines is transesterification to vegetable oil fatty acid esters, usually with methanol to vegetable oil fatty acid methyl esters.The resulting vegetable oil methyl ester can basically be used in all existing diesel engines even though their use necessitates modifications to the engine or the vehicle, sometimes to the fuel tank or to some adjustment parameters. In the engine investigations, a test of alternative fuels in the commercial vehicle division has been done which comprise single-cylinder engine tests, multi-cylinder engine test and vehicle field test.

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* Mercedez-Benz, Stuttgart, Germany