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Contact
information
Dr. Alan Hansen, Department of Agricultural Engineering Dr. Qin Zhang, Department of Agricultural Engineering Dr. Robert Hornbaker, Department of Agriculture and Consumer Economics |
Sponsors
Special Thanks to Shafer Farms Bloomingdale Farms
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Why Use E-Diesel? Diesel engines supply the power for most of today's heavy equipment and transportation needs. To improve the quality of our air, increasingly strict regulations have been imposed on emissions from these engines. One way to reduce the environmental impact of combustion is to use alternative fuels containing blends of non-petroleum substances such as ethanol. The problem with this approach has been increased cost and loss of engine performance. Newly developed E-Diesel fuel has the potential to protect the environment while offering enhanced performance and minimal cost increase What Do We Intend to Do?
E Diesel is composed ofE Diesel = Diesel Fuel + Ethanol + Additive
Are there any other reasons for Developing E-Diesel? The
global fuel crises in the 1970’s generated awareness amongst many countries of
their vulnerability to oil embargoes and shortages. Considerable attention was focused on the development of
alternative fuel sources, with particular reference to the alcohols.
Blends of ethanol and diesel fuel were investigated and found to be
technically feasible, however, the high costs of ethanol production meant that
the fuel could only be considered in cases of fuel shortages. In the last two
decades of the 20th century, major advances in engine technology have occurred,
leading to greater fuel economy in vehicles.
The reduction of emissions from engines has become a major factor in the
development of new engines and manufacturers are trying to meet the requirements
specified by EPA. As a result the
use of alternative fuels as a means of meeting these requirements has generated
much attention. Today the economics are much more favorable in the production of
ethanol and it is able to compete fairly well with standard diesel.
Hence there has been renewed interest in the ethanol-diesel blends with
particular emphasis on emissions reductions.
When considering an alternative fuel for use in diesel engines, a number
of issues are important. This
purpose of this paper is to review these issues with particular reference to
safety and distribution, integrity of the fuel being delivered to the engine,
emissions, engine performance and durability. Benefits
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