Engines running on pure vegetable oil as regrowing fuel History, Development, Experience, Chances

摘要

The idea of using vegetable oils as fuel for diesel engines is not new. With the advent of cheap petroleum, appropriate crude oil fractions were reined to serve as fuel and diesel fuels and diesel engines evolved together. In the 1930s and 1940s vegetable oils were used as diesel fuels from time to time, but usually only in emergency situations. Recently, because of increases in crude oil prices, limited resources of fossil oil-and environmental concerns there has been a renewed focus on vegetable oils and animal fats to make biodiesel fuels. At the beginning of the seventies ELSBETT was the first company to fit a fleet of cars with direct injection diesel engines with extremely low consumption, which were developing their basic models ready to their mass production - 20 years ahead of other companies. More than 1000 engines have been sold - all able to run on vegetable oil as well as on diesel fuel. This initiated a considerable discussion regarding use of vegetable oil as a fuel similarly to first biodiesel initiatives reported in 1981 in South-Africa and then in 1982 in Austria, Germany and New Zealand. Also Prof. Gao Zonying, Jiangsu University Zhenjiang,where Elsbett engines were tested in the eighties, addressed the concept of using plant "food" for fuel, indicating that petroleum should be the "alternative" fuel rather than vegetable oil and alcohol being the alternatives and some form of renewable energy must begin to take the place of the non-renewable resources. A cooperation between Jiangsu University and ELSBETT for a special engine development was signed. The first International Conference on Plant and Vegetable Oils as fuels was held in Fargo, North Dakota in August 1982. The primary concerns discussed were the cost of the fuel, the effects of vegetable oil fuels on engine performance and durability and fuel preparation, specifications and additives. Oil production, oilseed processing and extraction elso were considered in this meeting (ASAE, 1982).