The Impact of Powering an Engine with Fuels from Renewable Energy Sources including its Software Modification on a Drive Unit Performance Parameters

Abstract

The application of fuels from renewable energy sources for combustion engine powering involves a great demand for this kind of energy while its production infrastructure remains underdeveloped. The use of this kind of fuel is supposed to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and the depletion of natural resources and to increase the share of renewable energy sources in total energy consumption and thus support sustainable development in Europe. This study presents the results of research on selected performance parameters of transport by internal combustion engines including: power, torque, the emission of sound generated by the engine, the content of exhaust components (oxygen O2, carbon monoxide CO, carbon dioxide CO2, nitrogen dioxide NO2), and the content of particulate matter (PM) in exhaust emission. Three self-ignition engines were tested. The fuel injection controllers of the tested internal combustion engines were additionally adjusted by increasing the fuel dose and the load of air. The material used in the tests were mixtures of diesel oil and fatty acid methyl esters of different concentration. A statistical analysis was performed based of the results. The purpose of the work was to develop a resulting model for assessing the operation of engines fueled with biofuel and diesel mixtures while changing the vehicle's computer software. A computer simulation algorithm was also developed for the needs of the tests which was used to prognose the state of the test results for variable input parameters.