Emissions from diesel versus biodiesel fuel used in a CRDI SUV engine: PM mass and chemical composition.

The diesel tailpipe emissions typically undergo substantial physical and chemical transformations while traveling through the tailpipe, which tend to modify the original characteristics of the diesel exhaust. Most of the health-related attention for diesel exhaust has focused on the carcinogenic potential of inhaled exhaust components, particularly the highly respirable diesel particulate matter (DPM). In the current study, parametric investigations were made using a modern automotive common rail direct injection (CRDI) sports utility vehicle (SUV) diesel engine operated at different loads at constant engine speed (2400 rpm), employing diesel and 20% biodiesel blends (B20) produced from karanja oil. A partial flow dilution tunnel was employed to measure the mass of the primary particulates from diesel and biodiesel blend on a 47-mm quartz substrate. This was followed by chemical analysis of the particulates collected on the substrate for benzene-soluble organic fraction (BSOF) (marker of toxicity). BSOF results showed decrease in its level with increasing engine load for both diesel and biodiesel. In addition, real-time measurements for organic carbon/elemental carbon (OC/EC), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (marker of toxicity) were carried out on the diluted primary exhaust coming out of the partial flow dilution tunnel. PAH concentrations were found to be the maximum at 20% rated engine load for both the fuels. The collected particulates from diesel and biodiesel-blend exhaust were also analyzed for concentration of trace metals (marker of toxicity), which revealed some interesting results.