Experimental study into the effect of the second-generation BBuE biofuel use on the diesel engine parameters and exhaust composition

•Babassu oil butyl esters were made from inedible Babassu palm oil.•The catalyst mixture for new generation biofuel was butyl alcohol with sulphuric acid.•Babassu oil butyl esters (BBuE) make the second-generation biofuel.•As a fuel for CI engines, Babassu oil butyl esters show advantageous properties.•The use of the second-generation biodiesel reduced harmful emissions from CI engine. The use of biofuels to power engines reduces the emission of certain undesirable exhaust components. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of second-generation biofuels on the composition of exhaust gases from a Perkins 1104D-44TA diesel engine. For comparison purposes, the same tests were conducted with first-generation biofuel and diesel fuel (DF). The second-generation biofuel was babassu butyl esters (BBuE) produced via transesterification using butyl alcohol and a sulphuric acid catalyst. Currently, methyl or ethyl alcohols and basic catalysts are commonly used to produce esters. The first-generation biofuel used in the tests was rapeseed oil methyl esters (RME). The biofuels used in the tests were produced using patented technology and a reactor developed by one of the co-authors of this paper. With the engine powered by BBuE, the concentrations of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons and particulate matter in the exhaust gas were reduced in comparison to the engine powered by either DF or RME. Furthermore, by powering the engine with BBuE, lower concentrations of nitrogen oxides were obtained in comparison to its powering with RME. This is because BBuE contains many short-chain esters that are absent in RME. As a result, an engine powered by a new-generation biofuel emits fewer undesirable exhaust gas components into the atmosphere compared to a first-generation biofuel and diesel oil.