GreenYes Archives
[GreenYes Archives] - [Thread Index] - [Date Index]
[Date Prev] - [Date Next] - [Thread Prev] - [Thread Next]

[GreenYes] Cooking oils help engine performance
This article may be of interest as a potential way to recover cooking oils
from restaurants or homes; it came from the Environmental News Service at
http://ens-news.com/ens/oct2002/2002-10-16-09.asp#anchor7
John
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cooking Oils Boost Engine Performance 
STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania, October 16, 2002 (ENS) - Adding treated cooking
oils, such as soybean, canola or sunflower oil, to low sulfur diesel fuels
and engine lubricants reduces friction and wear, shows new research by
engineers at Penn State. 
Dr. Joseph Perez, adjunct professor of chemical engineering and leader of
the project, noted that low sulfur diesel fuels that are now mandated in
California will soon be required in all 50 states to enable diesel engines
to meet new federal regulations. But removing sulfur from the fuel causes
wear problems in fuel injector systems. 
"We've shown that adding as little as 10 percent of a specially treated
mixture of vegetable oil and fuel reduces both friction and wear," Perez
said. 
"There has been concern that there might be an insufficient volume of
vegetable oil to meet both food and fuel needs," Perez added. "However, our
results show that when the vegetable oil fuel mixture is oxygen treated, you
need only two percent vegetable oil to produce the same friction and wear
performance as current high sulfur diesel fuel." 
The Penn State team has conducted tests with four vegetable based engine
oils mixed with proprietary additives and compared them with a commercial
petroleum based oil. 
"The biodegradable oils are effective lubricants and have the potential to
displace petroleum-based products in various applications including engine
oils," Perez said. "Vegetable oils are renewable resources reducing our
dependency on imported oil." 
The team also evaluated the role of particulate buildup on wear when new,
extended use, non-vegetable diesel oils were used. The oils were run in
diesel trucks and not changed for 75,000 to 100,000 miles. Additional oil
was added as needed. 
The team's tests showed that wear increased with increasing mileage with the
major contributor believed to be the particulate content of the crankcase
oil. They note, "To solve these problems and meet the next round of emission
regulations in 2007 is a serious challenge to additive and lubricant
manufacturers and may involve a quantum leap in additive technology.
Renewable oils may play a significant role in the development of these
future engine oils." 
The Penn State engineer described the team's work at the 39th Annual
Technical Meeting of the Society of Engineering Science, being held this
week at Penn State. Perez presented his paper, "Friction and Wear Studies of
Fuel and Lubricants Containing Vegetable Oils," on Tuesday. 
* * *

******************************************
To post to the greenyes list,
email to: greenyes@grrn.org

subscription, faq and netiquette info for
this list are available here:
http://greenyes.grrn.org/
Please be sure to read the faq and netiquette
pages before posting.
******************************************

[GreenYes Archives] - [Date Index] - [Thread Index]
[Date Prev] - [Date Next] - [Thread Prev] - [Thread Next]