Influence of Biodiesel from Used Cooking Oil and Sunflower Oil on Engine Efficiency and Emission Profiles

Ruxandra-Cristina Stanescu, Adrian Soica and Cristian-Ioan Leahu ()
Additional contact information
Ruxandra-Cristina Stanescu: Department of Automotive and Transport Engineering, Transilvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, Romania
Adrian Soica: Department of Automotive and Transport Engineering, Transilvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, Romania
Cristian-Ioan Leahu: Department of Automotive and Transport Engineering, Transilvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, Romania

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 3, 1-29

Abstract: This study evaluates the performance and emissions characteristics of a compression ignition engine fueled with biodiesel blends derived from used cooking oil (UO) and sunflower oil (SF) at concentrations of 5%, 10%, 20%, and 50%. Tests were conducted under different load conditions (20%, 50%, and 100%) across engine speeds ranging from 1500 to 3600 rpm, focusing on effective power, torque, brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), and emissions of NOx, CO, HC, particulate matter (PM), smoke, and CO 2 . Consistent engine operating conditions were maintained for all fuel blends. The results indicated that increasing the biodiesel concentration led to a decrease in brake power and torque—up to 3.18% reduction for SF50 compared to diesel—due to the lower calorific value of biodiesel. For SF biodiesel, the BSFC increased with higher biodiesel content, while for UO biodiesel the results varied across concentrations. Emissions analysis revealed lower CO and HC at 2500 rpm for all biodiesel blends relative to diesel, while NOx emissions varied depending on fuel type and concentration. In terms of particles, both PM and smoke were measured, and while PM showed different results across blends, smoke was lower for all blends compared to diesel. Our overall analysis shows that biodiesel blends up to 20% can be effectively used in diesel engines without substantial modifications, offering a balance between performance and reduced emissions.

Keywords: engine performance; CO; NOx; HC emissions; biodiesel blends; alternative fuels (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/3/583/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/3/583/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:3:p:583-:d:1577434

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().