Hello, as promised, i tried to write down a bit of information about diesel and its biological and synthetic variations.
Each explanatory section will be followed by one or more external links that I used as source of information or for further resources about this topic.
Currently not included is the knowledge section about E-fuels (made from electric power , hydrogen and atmospheric Co²) because I just dont know enough and the current situation isn`t very easy to overlook.
This article describes the situation in mid november 2021 and contains only public available information gathered by me to allow everybody an overlook and simpliefied acces to information.
This will be part 1, the knowledge part, what is what, what does the different terms mean and what its made of.
I will focus on the european situation in further parts and will add more information about the chemical processes and such later but I wanted to get this started on a rather basic level.
I tried to be very accurate with the facts and include several external links for further information.
Please excuse any possible mistakes, I will review this again and try to update soon.
Part 2 will focus on distribution and availabilty in Europe, I will try to stay away from political things but honestly it is very political and I wont be able to avoid it completely...
Part 3 will hopefully shed some light on things I missed or topics about diesel that you are interested in, Im open for suggestions here. I will also talk about my personal experiences with diesel from different sources, distributors and qualities, about my experience with R33 which Im currently testing and hopefully with true XTL fuel
Part 1:
Diesel conventional fossil
Diesel fuel is a liquid fuel designed for usage in compression ignition engines, made mostly from petroleum fuel oil which is a crude oil distillate.
It is specified by several standards around the globe like
EN590 (Europe
), ASTM D 975 (USA),
GOST G 52368 (Russia), main specs are the cetane number which describes how readily the fuel ignites when sprayed and the fuel density and density variation under different temperatures.
Common European Diesel has a cetan number of min 51CZ, Aral Ultimate, for example, has 60CZ, US Diesel, as specified, has a cetan number not lower than 40CZ.
The amount of Sulphur is usually below 10ppm (parts per million) in Europe, USA and Canada but can vary widely across the globe.
For Europe the amount of Sulphur most not exceed 10ppm, this is important because Sulphur causes problems with several emission control systems and injectors, using high sulphur diesel in vehicles with DPF or EGR systems can damage these systems beyond repair.
So called
"Premium Diesel" fuels usually have higher cetan number and several additional additives that increase stability of density and storage stability as well as cleaning abilities and increased corrosion inhibition. This is meant to keep the injectors free of build up which is essential for optimum function, whilst this is often discussed its meanwhile clear that some of them actually work and do what they advertise.
A rule of thumb here is that the more modern the engine controls are the more effective it will be, older systems can`t use some of the benefits but the injectors should stay cleaner anyway.
Some of them also don`t blend it with Biodiesel or with less than 7% wich can be important as some vehicles aren`t speciefied for more than 5% Fame blend.
Please check your vehicle specs and the fuel distributors informations on this topic.
Diesel fuel - Wikipedia
Kristallklar, geruchsärmer und blitzsauber: Aral Ultimate Diesel ist ein moderner Hochleistungskraftstoff, der in jedem Fahrer das gute Gefühl zurücklässt, sauberer weiter zu kommen.
www.aral.de
100 % Reinigung und 100 % Schutz: Erfahren Sie, wie Shell V-Power den Motor sauber hält und vor leistungsmindernden Ablagerungen schützt.
www.shell.de
Both links are in german language and for example only, please check your local websites as the traded fuels can vary depending on region.
R33 Blue Diesel
R33 is a EN590 compliant Blend of 67% fossil diesel 26% HVO (Hydro treated vegatable oil) and 7% FAME diesel.
R33 currently mainly distributed by Shell, developed by several partners(Bosch, Shell, Volkswagen, Neste OY, University of Coburg, Tecosol), available since 2019.
Due to its composition, CO² emissions (wheel to wheel) can be reduced about 22%.
It is marketed as a Premium Diesel in terms of quality and characteristics such as cleaning purposes etc. as described under "Premium Diesel"
The compliance to EN590 ensures that it can be used in every diesel powered engine with respect to the 7% FAME component that may be forbidden by engine/vehicle manufacturer.
Its availabilty is sparse at the moment and I could not find any combined information of availabilty, but Iexpect it to be wider available in the near future.
A quick trial showed that google maps has some gas stations listed for R33 availabilty, so if you are interested give that a try.
First real world feedback from a vehicle fleet that I personally know indicates that it actually runs smoother than common diesel they used before.
R33 BlueDiesel
german language link about R33 (will add more here later)
Biodiesel FAME
Fatty Acid Methyl Esters
A diesel fuel made from biological resources like Soy beans and several other vegetable or animal fats/oils. Major difference to BTL fuel is the chemical process called Transesterification. Regulated by the standards
EN14214 and
ASTM D 6751 there are some significant differences between both standards in terms of oxidation stability (maybe stated more precisely later).
Can be sold under different names depending on the source used for esterification such as RME, FME, SME also sold in a variety of Blends from B2 (2%) up to B100 (100%) B7 is the Blend currently used in Germany and other European countries (clarification for other countries needed)
FAME diesel is an extremely aggressive solvent and as such causes several well known problems with seals and hoses also dissolves remnants from other fuels when poured in an old tank and causes clogging of filters, its low oxidation stability causes chemical degradation that clogs up injectors, bad temperature stability also causes early clogging of fuel filters in winter. Due to this multitude of negative characteristics its usually used as blend to reduce negative impact on not specified machinery.
Positive:
Reduces ecological impact when the right resources are used
Can be used as industrial solvent
Runs efficient in specified machinery
Negative:
Low oxidation stability
Highly aggressive / oxidative
Often highly questionable origin of resources
Guide to FAME Biodiesel
Biodiesel - Wikipedia
Fuels may be called XTL
XTL is the name of a fuel family where "X" is a placeholder for the source and "TL" means to-liquid
It coarsly describes various processes that turns varieing sources into a liquid fuel. Due to their nature they contain basically no Sulphur, compared to fossile crude oil, and are mixed from a lesser amount of hydrocarbones, usually around 10 (common diesel around 100) which results in more even combustion and cleaner combustion.
It`s characteristics are specified by the EN15940 European Standard for Paraffinic diesel fuels, since 2016
XTL is often used as a drop in fuel, mixable with fossil and bio diesel, it blends very well and the higher fuel quality allows to upgrade low fossil fuel qualities and helps reduce the amount of emissions of Nitrous oxides and particulate matter.
Does not meet
EN590 because of lower density, but other significantly improved factors like higher energy content and higher cetane number together with high molecular consistency compensate that.
GTL (gas to liquid)
GTL is made from Natural Gas and Oxygen , it will be put through a process called "Fischer-Tropsch process" to recieve liquid hydrocarbons that can be processed (cracked) into fuel depending on the needs, for example Diesel.
While GTL is a much cleaner fuel and has its benefits, it is still a fossil fuel and not renewable what separates it from BTL and HVO.
BTL (biomass to liquid)
BTL is made from low value plant based biological wastes or residues that will be put through a gasification process, the resulting gas will then be cleaned and further processed into fuel similiar like it would happen to crude oil but with lesser byproducts.
Technologies used in this process are mainly CO-shift (increase hydrogen) again the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis or the "Methanol to Gasoline" process which is are registered trademark.
BTL fuels are accepted as sustainable by common standards and reduce CO² emission by 90% (based on current scientifical standards)
They are expected to be able to replace about 25% of the fossile fuels used in europe, production on industrial level is currently under development.
As far as I know there is no commercial product available today.
HVO (hydro treated vegetable oil)
HVO is made from waste oils and fats such as industrial frying oil and fat and oil waste from the catering industry where these wastes are getting collected for disposal by specialized companies.
It will then be filtered and put into a pyrolitic process for gasification, gas will be cleaned and put through a synthesis process with the end product of high quality fuels.
HVO is currently available as blend component for diesel (R33 blue diesel) and available in some countries as a pure HVO fuel.
Pure HVO in europe is currently made by the company Neste Oy from Finnland, Eni from Italy and Total of France. Only Neste HVO is distributed over several gas station networks in the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Sweden and Finnland. The distrubution situation in Germany is pretty confusing, because germany has not implemented the EN15940 fuel standard for political reasons, its not available as fuel for the public, only for fleets and companies or as "tool fuel" for diesel powered equipment.
Its also distributed in California and Oregon.
XTL Fully meets or exceeds ASTM D 975 USA
Positive:
Cleaner combustion
Uses existing infrastructure
Readily biodegradable and non-toxic
Fully compatible with exiting engines, no modifications needed
Negative:
EN15940 allows up to 7% FAME (more on that later…)
Depends on ethics of producer not to use Palm-oil or other problematic components
https://toolfuel.eu/wp-content/uploads/pdf/broschueren/neste_renewable_diesel_handbook_german.pdf
Spezifikationen paraffinische Dieselkraftstoffe im Überblick › TOOL-FUEL Services GmbH | Ihr Spezialist für hochwertige Dieselkraftstoffe wie C.A.R.E. Diesel, Shell GTL Fuel, HVO, NExBTL
Comparison between EN15940/EN590/ASTM D975 diesel fuel specifications
CEN ratifies EN15940 standard for paraffinic diesel fuels - F&L Asia
