Abstract

One of the primary incentives for expanding the production and use of biofuels worldwide is the potential environmental benefit that can be obtained from replacing petroleum fuels with fuels derived from renewable biomass resources. The use of straight vegetable oil in diesel engines is one of the available alternatives, but its use in existing vehicles usually requires modification of engine or fuel system components. The increased viscosity, low volatility, and poor cold flow properties of vegetable oils lead to severe engine deposits, injector coking, and piston ring sticking. The paper presents a literature review on vegetable oils as alternative fuel for diesel engines.