Pretty basic. :o)
No CR/PD, direct injection.
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Some valid points raised, particularly with regard to the clearing of rainforest for biodiesel production. In fact I started to wonder if the author had read my post in the "Pork - > diesel" thread!
However I am quite sceptical about the following statement from the article: "Given the number of diesel injection systems that are now failing under warranty in the UK, the suspicion must be that inadequate specifications are allowing unstable B5 blends on to the market. But with the secrecy covering biodiesel B5 blends, who knows?" It seems to me that diesel injection systems have been known to be troublesome for several years, certainly long before biodiesel use started to grow (albeit on a minute scale, over the past two years or so). Even now, most fuel sold in this country does not contain biodiesel and it is far-fetched to suggest that the long history of problems with diesel injection systems relates to the small amount of biodiesel on the market. My own supplier uses a 30% blend in his diesel X-Type and has done so in that car for about eighteen months without incident. The fuel his company produces is made to the EN14214 standard. Nothing secret about it. I have bought and continue to buy that fuel as a satisfied customer. However it is true that some engines aren't suited to blends as high as that and I agree that it is not advisable to use high blends of biodiesel in a common rail/PD engine unless the manufacturer approves its use.
This brings me to another point - the article states that "On the record, motor manufacturers seem to have gone with the flow of promoting biodiesel because it reduces our dependency on imported oil. Off the record they are more inclined to hint that the very least that biodiesel will do to the most sophisticated diesel engines is reduce their expected life." This is quite misleading - most manufacturers limit their warranty to the use of 5% biodiesel blend, no more. Peugeot have warranted its use up to 30% in HDi engines, while I believe that VAG now insists that any blend above 5% can only be used in cars which have been appropriately modified at the factory (please correct me if I am mistaken here). This doesn't add up to "going with the flow of promoting biodiesel" ? on the contrary, manufacturers seem to discourage it.
On his points regarding storage issues, I can only refer to my own personal experience. I've been using biodiesel for nearly six years and 170000 miles, keeping it in storage sometimes for months at a time. I have never had difficulty with microbes or hydrolysis.
My scepticism is reinforced by the fact that the author "worked at Shell for 32 years (20 as a research scientist and 12 years in technical marketing). Since 1999 he has been Environment, Health and Safety consultant to the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMIF) and technical consultant to the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA)." This IMHO diminishes his credibility as a neutral observer.
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andymc
Vroom, vroom - mmm, doughnuts ...
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Much of the manufacturer's "factory modifications" consists of fitting a different type of flexible fuel line.
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Biodiesel may have been used little in the UK until recently, but thats not true of France or Germany. Drive your diesel over in France, .and you will get 5% unadvertised bio-diesel content. Consider how many Uk registered vehicles pop over to France, let alone Germany, and you have a possibility that the man may know something. His data may be more than a single anecdotal reference.
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