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This has been a hot topic of late as it seems to be the latest excuse that the vehicle industry is using to prevent the use of biodiesel. There have been many threads in this forum discussing this issue recently as manufacturers such as VW and Peugeot are printing “not for biodiesel” and citing the use of a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) as the reason.
So what’s this all about?
With the introduction of Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel (ULSD), better methods of cleaning up the emissions coming from the exhaust pipe are now possible. Without getting too scientific (as I’d get lost and get it wrong anyway
), the DPF is a way to capture the soot that is unburned and then periodically burn it, thus preventing the particles from entering the atmosphere and causing health and environmental problems.
The DPF is a relatively new thing for diesel engines. We’ve had other technologies for a while, such as Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR), which permits the unburned bits a second chance in the combustion chamber and catalytic converters, which are hot metal bits that can burn the nasties away into safer gasses (there’s me getting scientific again
). The sulphur in the fuel used to cause big problems for catalytic converters, as it would clog in them up, preventing them from working properly. (Biodiesel is a no sulphur fuel, not just a low sulphur one).
So, now that we’ve dealt with the sulphur issue, we can get onto previously unavailable technologies to try to clean out the soot, or particulates. This is where the DPF comes in. DPFs are cool as they make a major difference to the amount of crap we put out from our vehicle dependence. They are mandated in most sensible countries (or will be soon) and almost all of the new breed of “clean diesels” being brought out by the manufacturers have them fitted. It’s a bit like when lead was removed from petrol and catalytic converters were suddenly able to work.
So is biodiesel not compatible with a DPF? No, this is false – biodiesel is compatible with a DPF, in fact it is better for it, like almost every other component in the diesel engine that biodiesel touches.
In my opinion, this is just the latest and easiest spin for vehicle manufacturers to use to prevent us using biodiesel. Is this a conspiracy theory? No. Vehicle manufacturers fear the use of biodiesel as they know that some people make their own and they cannot be sure of a standard. Even though very high standards exist, they still cover themselves as much as they can on warranty issues, just to be careful. They simply don’t like change. Now this DPF stuff is a very new technology and all the rest of the diesel engine is very old. Biodiesel has had quite some time to prove its worth in every other component of the engine and there are no legitimate claims left against it in the modern engine (though some still try). The DPF is not so. Most vehicle manufacturers have simply not bothered to test it properly with biodiesel and so they can stamp it as not suitable for biodiesel until they have (at a time that suits them).
However, that does not mean that testing with biodiesel and DPFs has not been done. Many independent organisations have tested this and their results show no ill effects, in fact increased performance and longevity of the DPF when used with biodiesel, even in low blends.
Please read the following attached report for more info.
(I’d like to thank our fellow forum user The Gos who brought this article to my attention.)
So what’s this all about?
With the introduction of Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel (ULSD), better methods of cleaning up the emissions coming from the exhaust pipe are now possible. Without getting too scientific (as I’d get lost and get it wrong anyway
), the DPF is a way to capture the soot that is unburned and then periodically burn it, thus preventing the particles from entering the atmosphere and causing health and environmental problems.The DPF is a relatively new thing for diesel engines. We’ve had other technologies for a while, such as Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR), which permits the unburned bits a second chance in the combustion chamber and catalytic converters, which are hot metal bits that can burn the nasties away into safer gasses (there’s me getting scientific again
). The sulphur in the fuel used to cause big problems for catalytic converters, as it would clog in them up, preventing them from working properly. (Biodiesel is a no sulphur fuel, not just a low sulphur one).So, now that we’ve dealt with the sulphur issue, we can get onto previously unavailable technologies to try to clean out the soot, or particulates. This is where the DPF comes in. DPFs are cool as they make a major difference to the amount of crap we put out from our vehicle dependence. They are mandated in most sensible countries (or will be soon) and almost all of the new breed of “clean diesels” being brought out by the manufacturers have them fitted. It’s a bit like when lead was removed from petrol and catalytic converters were suddenly able to work.
So is biodiesel not compatible with a DPF? No, this is false – biodiesel is compatible with a DPF, in fact it is better for it, like almost every other component in the diesel engine that biodiesel touches.
In my opinion, this is just the latest and easiest spin for vehicle manufacturers to use to prevent us using biodiesel. Is this a conspiracy theory? No. Vehicle manufacturers fear the use of biodiesel as they know that some people make their own and they cannot be sure of a standard. Even though very high standards exist, they still cover themselves as much as they can on warranty issues, just to be careful. They simply don’t like change. Now this DPF stuff is a very new technology and all the rest of the diesel engine is very old. Biodiesel has had quite some time to prove its worth in every other component of the engine and there are no legitimate claims left against it in the modern engine (though some still try). The DPF is not so. Most vehicle manufacturers have simply not bothered to test it properly with biodiesel and so they can stamp it as not suitable for biodiesel until they have (at a time that suits them).
However, that does not mean that testing with biodiesel and DPFs has not been done. Many independent organisations have tested this and their results show no ill effects, in fact increased performance and longevity of the DPF when used with biodiesel, even in low blends.
Please read the following attached report for more info.
(I’d like to thank our fellow forum user The Gos who brought this article to my attention.)
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