Research on possible supplying ship diesel engines with alternative fuels

The paper presents introduction to the research on possible supplying ship diesel engines with mixtures of diesel oils and vegetable oils or their esters with accounting for ecological aspects - exhaust gas purity. Characteristics of vegetable oils and their esters are compared with those diesel oils. Consequences of their application to diesel engines, mainly for their working process and exhaust gas content, are indicated. Also, influence of combusting mixtures of diesel oil and vegetable oils or their esters, are discussed in the same context. The paper presents results of experimental tests which were carried out on a ship diesel engine supplied with marine diesel oil(MDO) and the oil and rape oil methyl esters mixed (MDO/RME) in different proportions (i.e. 5% RME in MDO, 10% RME in MDO and 20% RME in MDO). The results obtained from the tests when supplying the engine with the MDO alone was assumed the reference point for determination of influence of combustion of the MDO/RME mixtures on the engine's working parameters and its exhaust gas content. It was paid to influence of combustion of the mixtures of diesel oil and rape oil methyl esters on working parameters of the engine, including noxious components capacity.