Biofuels derived from Turkish industry wastes—a study of performance and emissions in a diesel engine

Recently, research has focused on the biofuel production from local industrial wastes due to the risk of greenhouse emissions derived from land-use change (both directly and indirectly) of conventional feedstock and the social concern about the effect of conventional biofuel production on oil prices and its availability (the so-called food vs. fuel debate). Therefore, with the aim to evaluate the use of biofuels derived from wastes from traditional manufacturing industries in Turkey, biodiesel fuels from leather fat, obtained as a by-product in the leather industry, waste anchovy fish oil, derived from the fish-processing industry, and waste frying cottonseed oil achieved from food industry, have been tested in a three-cylinder DI diesel engine at a steady-state condition. In a previous work, the viability of these fuels was evaluated by analyzing measured and estimated properties and indicators for main diesel emissions, and recommendations were made on their alternative use to conventional biodiesels with the benefit of potentially lower life-cycle greenhouse emissions. The experimental results, which were compared with ULSD operation, demonstrated that the engine performance was not significantly affected, while a substantial change in emissions was observed with the use of biofuels. In general, the emission results reported here are in a similar range to those obtained with the use of conventional biodiesel fuels. Nonetheless, the exact magnitude of these changes depended upon the biodiesel origin. Lubricity of alternative biofuels was also tested, revealing an enormous capacity for protecting the fuel system from wear, in line with conventional biodiesel fuels. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 2015