On-road performance comparison of two identical cars consuming petrodiesel and biodiesel

The present work studies the impact on vehicle performance and fuel consumption when using 100% diesel with petroleum origin (fossil diesel), compared to a mixture of 20% biodiesel in 80% of fossil diesel fuel (B20).For the accomplishment of this work an assessment was made using some primary tests on a chassis dynamometer, measuring vehicle performance and consumption. Subsequently a methodology was developed to conduct road tests. These considered the simultaneous circulation of two identical vehicles, fed with the two different fuels, but running on the same traffic and road conditions.Both vehicles were equipped with geo-referencing systems (GPS) and data measured by the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) were acquired. A precision balance was used in fuel consumption measurements of an auxiliary reservoir.The results demonstrate that the use of biodiesel has a penalizing effect on the mass fuel consumption and on vehicle's performance, but this is largely dependent on the type of circuit used. One can also conclude that the methodology implemented on the study of fuel alternatives is extremely important. It is noticeable that for different route needs, different energetic solutions are more suitable than others, which can only be properly assessed by conducting road tests.

► This work deals with a new methodology using on-road tests in vehicles.
► Objective of obtaining results about the efficiency of using biodiesel in vehicles.
► The methodology was based in new information and technological capabilities.
► The typology of circuit affects the way vehicles deal with the fuel supplied.