Sustainable Mobility

Technical and environmental challenges for the automotive sector

Week 5 Session 5 Biofuels for Diesel engines

Ludivine Pidol

IFPEN / IFP School 2014

In this lecture we will focus on biofuels for Diesel engines and especially FAME for the first
generation and BTL for the second generation.

FAME process
FAME, Fatty acid methyl esters, also called biodiesel, are produced from oil, such as rapeseed, soya,
sunflower or palm oils and from methanol.
The process is called transesterification and it converts fatty acids into esters. It is why we obtain a
fatty acid methyl ester.
Then, FAME are blended with petroleum diesel fuel, with 5, 7, 10 or more percentage in volume,
which gives B5, B7, B10, etc.

FAME properties
The main advantage of FAME is the decrease in emissions. Its Well to Wheel balance is, of course,
better than petroleum products. And as they are oxygenated compounds, esters decrease HC, CO
and particle emissions. Indeed, with oxygenated compounds, the combustion is more complete,
with higher soot reactivity.
Esters also have a good lubricity that prevents engine wear.
Depending on the oil used to produce esters, properties can be quite different.
For example, this table shows some properties of rapeseed methyl esters and soya methyl esters,
compared to a European petroleum diesel fuel.
Note that European countries mainly use rapeseed methyl esters, whereas the United States focus
more on soya methyl esters.
The cetane number depends on the oil. For example, in Europe, Rapeseed methyl esters have a
cetane around 53, better than the European specification of 51 required for the diesel fuel.

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In terms of Cold flow properties, some FAME, such as Palm or soya, are not suitable for use in
winter because they crystallize at low temperatures.
The CFPP of soya methyl esters is about minus 5 degrees Celsius. On the other side, Rapeseed
methyl ester is one of the best esters in terms of cold flow behavior.
Esters are slightly more viscous and heavier than petroleum diesel fuel. Consequently, when Bx are
blended, attention must be focused on the density in order to stay in the permitted range of the
specification.
Concerning Fuel consumption, the FAME energy content is slightly lower compared to a petroleum
diesel fuel, about 8% lower. Consequently, the fuel consumption increases from a B0 to a B10 but it
is very weak, less than 1%.

Now, I propose to focus on fuel consumption through a numerical example. Take a car with a 50
liter tank.
The fuel endurance is the best for petroleum diesel fuel with 890 km. For B10, it is very close at 885
km.
As you know, fuel consumption of gasoline vehicles is higher and consequently, the fuel endurance
is lower at about 800 km for petroleum gasoline and 770 km for E10.
Finally, one of the fuels with the lowest fuel endurance is E85, used by flex fuel vehicles, with 570
km. Be careful, these distances are, of course, only approximate figures; they will depend on the
vehicle, the driver, etc.

The last drawbacks of FAME concerns the oxidation stability of ester blends. In order to prevent
biodiesel evolution in time, many countries have defined new specification requirements for Bx
blends, with specific oxidation tests. Some anti-oxidant additives can also be recommended or
mandatory.

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FAME worldwide
FAME is permitted up to 20% volume in the USA and this B20 is used specifically by trucks.
Many countries are between 4 and 7%, such as in Europe with B7.

BTL, paraffinic fuels

FAMEs are the first generation of biodiesel. For the second generation, the product, the raw
material and the process are completely different. Biodiesel from the second generation is called
BTL which stands for biomass to liquid.
BTL is produced from wood, through a thermochemical pathway. The dry ligno-cellulosic feedstocks
are subjected to a strong heat treatment in the presence of air or oxygen, and gasification takes
place producing syngas.
This syngas mainly consists of a mix of hydrogen and CO gases. The next step is the Fischer Tropsch
process which allows the synthesis of paraffinic fuels as explained in this chemical equation. So
finally, for the second generation of biofuels for Diesel engines, the product is very different in
terms of chemistry compared to FAME. FAME esters are oxygenated compounds whereas BTL is a
mix of paraffinic compounds, with only saturated chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms.
Consequently, first and second generations of biodiesel are very different in terms of chemistry and
in terms of properties.

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It is also possible to obtain syngas and paraffinic fuels from other raw products: for example, from
natural gas. In that case, we talk about GTL (Gas to liquid). Or from coal, it is then called CTL (Coal
to liquid). From coal and gas, the final product is of course- not a biofuel and their well to wheel
balance is not as interesting as the well to wheel balance of BTL. But CTL or GTL display the same
chemistry and the same properties as BTL. And CTL and GTL processes are well-known and wellmastered.

Finally, this paraffinic fuel is blended with Diesel fuel produced from crude oil.
Thanks to this pathway, the Well To Wheel balance of BTL is outstanding: we have higher than 90%
savings compared to a petroleum diesel fuel. Moreover, BTL is a paraffinic product, without
aromatics and sulfur, leading to lower emissions, such as particles.
Another outstanding property of BTL and paraffinic compounds is their very high cetane number,
more than 70.
Their density is lower, as shown in this table and the fuel consumption is more or less constant, less
than 4% variation on the energy content.
Consequently, in terms of performances, BTL is a very interesting product.
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The drawbacks of BTL concern its availability and the cost of the process. Today, much research is
being carried out to improve the process but this product is not yet available at the pump.

The last part of this lesson concerns the third generation biofuels, which are produced from algae.
The main advantage of algae is that it offers a very promising yield: devoted areas are very few.
Algae can be transformed into ethanol or into paraffinic products, such as BTL, which display very
interesting properties for Diesel engines. Nevertheless, we are only at the research stage and
production costs should be improved.

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