GASEOUS COMPOUNDS, OZONE PRECURSORS, PARTICLE NUMBER AND PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS, AND MUTAGENIC EFFECTS DUE TO BIODIESEL

Abstract

In Germany, 100,000 tons of biodiesel (rapeseed oil methylester) were produced in 1998. More than 200,000 tonsare expected in 2000. In the U.S., biodiesel derives from both rapeseed oil and soybean oil. The esters of these oils areabbreviated RME and SME. It is necessary to judge the environmental and health effects that derive from the use of biodieselin combustion engines. Therefore, regulated and some important nonregulated emissions from different blends of RME andfossil diesel fuel were determined. With regard to the current discussion about particle size and particle number distributions,one focus of interest was the analysis of particulate matter and the determination of its mutagenic effect. Moreover, theemissions of ozone precursors were compared for both fuels. Additionally, a comparison of RME with SME was carried out.