| Abstract
| - Oxygenated diesel fuel blends have advantages over regular diesel. Oxygenation significantlyreduces particulate matter (PM) and reduces toxic gases such as CO, sulfur oxides (SOx), and, attimes, nitrogen oxides (NOx) from tailpipe emissions. Ethanol, which is the oxygenate in E-diesel,is a renewable fuel that reduces the dependency of non-oil-producing countries on foreignpetroleum. However, a major drawback with E-diesel is that ethanol is immiscible in diesel overa wide range of temperatures. Studies have revealed that biodiesel, which is another renewablefuel, can be used successfully as an amphiphile (a surface-active agent) to stabilize ethanol anddiesel. Research also has revealed that ethanol−biodiesel−diesel (EB-diesel) fuel blend microemulsions are stable well below sub-zero temperatures and have shown equal or superior fuelproperties to regular diesel fuel. Microemulsions of certain component concentrations have shownsubstantially increased lubricity without compromising the cetane numbers and energy values.Despite ethanol having a considerably lower energy value, cetane number, and lubricity valuethan biodiesel or diesel fuel alone, the heat of combustion and cetane numbers of the EB-dieselblends remained steady, without significant reduction. The minimal change of the heat ofcombustion suggested that microemulsions may be contributing to the overall combustion processin a positive way. This work has paved the way to formulate a new form of biofuel blend fromrenewable materiala blend that has energy values comparable to those of fossil fuels but alsohas superior lubricity and environmentally friendly characteristics.
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