Advantages and Disadvantages of Biodiesel

Advantages of Biodiesel

  • It is a renewable bio-based fuel and, as such, has lower life cycle CO2 emissions than diesel derived from mineral oils.
  • Neat biodiesel contains almost no sulfur and no aromatics. In a properly tuned engine this is expected to lead to lower particulate exhaust emissions.
  • The material is bio-degradable and non-toxic.
  • As an oxygenated compound, it reduces the non-soluble fraction of the particles.
  • The PAH content of exhaust particles is reduced.
  • In a mixture with low-sulfur diesel, biodiesel can act as a lubricity improver (Arcoumanis, 2000)
  • The absence of sulfur allows more efficient use of oxidation catalysts.


    Disadvantages of Biodiesel
  • Constraints on the availability of agricultural feedstock impose limits on the possible contribution of biodiesels to transport.
  • The kinematic viscosity is higher than diesel fuel. This affects fuel atomization during injection and requires modified fuel injection systems.
  • Due to the high oxygen content, it produces relatively high NOx levels during combustion.
  • Oxidation stability is lower than that of diesel so that under extended storage conditions it is possible to produce oxidation products that may be harmful to the vehicle components.