The effect of using diesel-biodiesel-bioethanol blends on the fuel feed pump of a small-scale internal combustion engine

Biofuels represent an environmental-friendly and feasible alternative to fossil fuels for internal combustion engines. The use of diesel-biodiesel-bioethanol fuel blends (ternary blends) is one of the most interesting solutions in terms of fossil fuels substitution. They provide an improvement of exhausts gas emissions without any significant sacrifices in terms of energy-conversion efficiency. However, engine operation may be affected by the fuel substitution especially in the auxiliary mechanical fuel-feed systems, traditionally designed for low-density and high-viscosity fossil fuels. In the proposed work, two easy-to-use experimental-based mathematical models have been obtained by using the response surface method to assess the behaviour of fuel feed-pumps when biofuels blends are used. Density and mass flow-rates have been measured for several fuel mixtures and at different temperatures. The proposed equations are intended to be used as a practical tool, based on the optimal behaviour of the fuel feed-pump, in order to choose the best ternary fuel-mixture composition and/or predict/infer the engine performances under non-tested conditions (i.e., other mixtures' compositions and temperatures, however within the inquired domain).