This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at El biodiésel como alternativa en la mejora de la contaminación

The results of a study realised in the Polytechnical University of Madrid confirm that the use of the biodiésel reduces the broadcasts of gases of effect invernadero

The biodiésel like alternative in the improvement of the pollution

Source: Polytechnical University of Madrid16/07/2012

A group of investigation of the Insia, one of the centres of R&D of the Polytechnical University of Madrid, has realised an analysis cycle of life applied to the use of biodiésel in urban buses to analyse and quantify the power consumed primary and fossil, as well as the broadcasts of gases of effect invernadero. The results will be able to use to orient the implementation of governmental politics in environingingmental matter related with the road transport.

The sector of the road transport has a big influence in the environingingmental impact, since his growth in the last years has caused an exhaustion of the energetic resources fossils (like the oil and the natural gas among others) in addition to a high generation of broadcasts of gases of effect invernadero (between the most important find the broadcasts of carbon dioxide). Because of this problematic, at present are investigating in the scientific community so much new alternative fuels like new technologies of postratamiento of gases of leakage.

Photo: Javitomad.

Between the alternative fuels, by which has arisen a big interest, find the biofuels. One of them is the biodiésel, object of the study⁽¹⁾ realised, that proceeds of renewable resources like vegetal oils, animal fats or oils of kitchen used. Regarding the technologies of postratamiento of gases of leakage, the investigation has centred mainly in two: the selective catalytic reduction with urea (SCR+Urea) and the recirculation of gases of leakage with filter of particles (EGR+DPF).

In this frame of the introduction of biofuels and technologies of postratamiento of gases of leakage in the sector of the road transport, realised an analysis of cycle of life on two pertaining buses to the Municipal Company of Transports of Madrid, each one with his respective technology of postratamiento of gases of leakage, in combination with the use of the three types of fuels that are diesel, B20 (20% of biodiésel and 80% of diesel) and B100 (100% biodiésel).

Between the main results found that the use of this type of fuel reduces the broadcasts of gases of effect invernadero, but the consumption of primary power sees increased. However, only a low percentage of this power corresponds to power fossil since the biodiésel obtains from resources no fossils as they are the plants oleaginosas and/or animal fats. Likewise, it observed an increase in the broadcasts of oxides of nitrogen and a reduction in the particles, tendency that acrecienta with the increase of the mix.

Photo: Shizhao/Wilfredor.

The whole of power fossil consumed by the use of biodiésel gives in the processes of crop and transesterificación, by what in the first would have to look for alternatives to reduce the consumption of fertilizantes that require of an important quantity of power fossil in his production and, in the second, could implant systems of cogeneration that use sources of renewable power in the plants of transesterificación to increase his energetic efficiency.

These results can use like orientative information in the implementation of governmental politics in environingingmental matter related with the road transport interurbano in Spain, since it provides information detailed extracted of an extensive review of bibliography and of diverse databases recognised in the scientific community like Gemis and GaBi 4. In this last, has llevar the modelling of the balances of power, mass and broadcasts of the most notable processes analysed in this study.

(1) García-Sánchez, JA; López-Martínez, JM; Flores-Holgado, N; Sands-Ramírez, B. Life Cycle ‘Analysis of Euro IV urban buses'. DYNA 87 (1): 45-57. 2012.