Influence of Blending Model n-Butanol Alcoholysis Derived Advanced Biofuel Blends with Diesel on the Regulated Emissions from a Diesel Hybrid Vehicle

Decarbonisation of the transport sector, whilst reducing pollutant emissions, will likely involve the utilisation of multiple strategies, including hybridisation and the use of alternative fuels such as advanced biofuels as mandated by the EU. Alcoholysis of lignocellulosic feedstocks, using n-butanol as the solvent, can produce such potential advanced biofuel blends. Butyl blends, consisting of n-butyl levulinate (nBL), di-n-butyl ether, and n-butanol, were selected for this study. Three butyl blends with diesel, two at 10 vol% biofuel and one at 25 vol% biofuel, were tested in a Euro 6b-compliant diesel hybrid vehicle to determine the influence of the blends on regulated emissions and fuel economy. Real Driving Emissions (RDE) were measured for three cold start tests with each fuel using a Portable Emissions Measurement System (PEMS) for carbon monoxide (CO), particle number (PN), and nitrogen oxides (NOX = NO + NO₂). When using the butyl blends, there was no noticeable change in vehicle drivability and only a small fuel economy penalty of up to 5% with the biofuel blends relative to diesel. CO, NOX, and PN emissions were below or within one standard deviation of the Euro 6 not-to-exceed limits for all fuels tested. The CO and PN emissions reduced relative to diesel by up to 72% and 57%, respectively. NOX emissions increased relative to diesel by up to 25% and increased with both biofuel fraction and the amount of nBL in that fraction. The CO emitted during the cold start period was reduced by up to 52% for the 10 vol% blends but increased by 25% when using the 25 vol% blend. NOX and PN cold start emissions reduced relative to diesel for all three biofuel blends by up to 29% and 88%, respectively. It is envisaged that the butyl blends could reduce net carbon emissions without compromising or even improving air pollutant emissions, although optimisation of the after-treatment systems may be necessary to ensure emissions limits are met.