Submit to Special Issue Submit Abstract to Special Issue Review for Energies Propose a Special Issue

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Bioenergy and Biofuels: Engines Efficiency and Sustainable Mobility

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A4: Bio-Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 23 May 2024 | Viewed by 5188

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ruslans Smigins

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Faculty of Engineering, Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, J. Cakstes Blvd. 5, LV3001 Jelgava, Latvia
Interests: biofuels; engine research; combustion; emissions; hydrogen

Prof. Dr. Krzysztof Górski

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Kazimierz Pulaski University of Technology and Humanities in Radom, ul. Chrobrego 45, 26-200 Radom, Poland
Interests: biofuels; engine research; vehicles

Dr. Jonas Matijosius

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Institute of Mechanical Science, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Plytinės Str. 25, LT-10105 Vilnius, Lithuania
Interests: transportation; routing; transport ecology; mechanical systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Despite the fact that biofuels are already actively used today, due to the ecological situation and changing conditions in the energy market, their use is becoming more relevant. Various liquid and gaseous biofuels, from biodiesel to biohydrogen, are being studied to replace fossil fuels. In this regard, significant attention is paid not only to the ecological but also to the dynamic and economic indicators of engines. Research has shown a significant contribution to the use of these fuels not only in their pure form or in various mixtures but also as low-level additives to fossil fuels.

Despite the rapid growth in the number of electric cars, there still exists a wide range of alternative fuels for conventional engines, which are still underestimated in certain transport sectors or industries and constitute a stable alternative to fossil fuels.

This Special Issue's aim is to present and disseminate the most recent advances related to biofuel and bioenergy application in engines, putting emphasis on efficiency, ecology and sustainable mobility.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to:

Analysis of combustion process in internal combustion (IC) engines;
Biofuel quality and their suitability for IC engines;
Application of different generation biofuels;
Impact of bioenergy on the environment;
Emissions from IC engines;
Modelling of emissions and energy use from biofuel fueled vehicles;
Performance of IC engines with biofuels;
Biofuel vehicle compatibility;
Impact of biofuel application in urban cities;
Off-road applications.

Dr. Ruslans Smigins
Prof. Dr. Krzysztof Górski
Dr. Jonas Matijosius
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

engines
vehicles
biofuels
efficiency
mobility
emissions
combustion
performance
renewable

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

Jump to: Review

16 pages, 1320 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fuel Use Reduction and Economic Savings from Optimization of Road Transportation of Coniferous Roundwood

by Zygmunt Stanula, Marek Wieruszewski, Katarzyna Mydlarz and Krzysztof Adamowicz

Energies 2023, 16(14), 5334; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16145334 - 12 Jul 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 780

Abstract

One of the 10 priorities of the Green New Deal is sustainable transportation. It should be considered in the perspective of long-term ecological and economic sustainability, according to the trend of opportunities for sustainable development. The economic and environmental aspects of transportation related to the harvesting and movement of timber play a special role in the energy cost and their environmental impact per distance of raw material supply. The principles of rational and energy-efficient use of transportation equipment play a key role in the movement of raw timber. These are influenced by the availability of timber resources, limitation of vehicle payloads, reduction of energy consumption expressed in terms of reduction of fuel combustion, or current legal and road regulations for timber transportation. The paper evaluates economic and environmental factors in relation to the demand for fuels necessary for the implementation of road transportation of softwood timber. The aim of this paper was to present the current situation of the use of transportation means in the movement of bulky timber, as well as opportunities to optimize fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions, affecting the economic and environmental effects. Previous studies on fuel consumption in the transportation of roundwood indicate irrational use of vehicles. This indicates unused payload capacity increasing energy inputs expressed in fuel consumption. It has been empirically investigated that this is the result of improperly approved transport sets adapted to the material being transported. In addition, it was shown that there is a clear correlation between the vehicle payload utilization rate and economic and environmental factors. The results of this study point to the potential to increase the use of transportation vehicles for timber transportation and reduce fuel combustion and CO₂ emissions by 7–20%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioenergy and Biofuels: Engines Efficiency and Sustainable Mobility)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 3381 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Testing and Analysis of Selected Operating Parameters of a Vehicle Powered by Fuel with the Addition of Biocomponents

by Marietta Markiewicz, Piotr Aleksandrowicz, Łukasz Muślewski and Michał Pająk

Energies 2023, 16(7), 3159; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16073159 - 31 Mar 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1053

Abstract

The most common fuel used for powering compression ignition engines is diesel, whose main components are petroleum products. The constantly growing energy demand involves the implementation of new technical solutions and applying alternative fuels, including renewable ones, such as rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, and animal fats. The most commonly used biofuels are those obtained from chemically processed rapeseeds (transesterification) to provide them with physical–chemical properties similar to diesel fuel. The study presents the results of tests of a power unit fueled with different mixtures of diesel oil and fatty acid methyl esters. The experiment was carried out for a compression ignition engine of 81 kW power with direct fuel injection. Performance parameters of the vehicle power unit and its computer software were modified for the needs of the tests. Those modifications involved increasing the fuel dose and the fuel injection pressure. The test results were statistically analyzed. Based on the results, a simulation of power and torque was performed, depending on the vehicle computer system adjustment and the fuel mixture used. A simulation of the vehicle movement in a non-homogeneous environment (variable road conditions) was performed concerning the vehicle motion kinematics. The simulations were carried out in a V-SIM 5.0 program. The simulation was performed at five speeds, respectively: 0 km/h, 25 km/h, 50 km/h, 75 km/h, and 100 km/h. The simulation made it possible to determine speed, acceleration, time, and distance. The analysis shows that the highest acceleration of 3 m/s² was obtained for the BIO50 mixture, regulation V. The longest road section needed to achieve the maximum speed (100 km/h) was recorded for the BIO10 mixture, regulation II. The simulation duration ranged from 17.9 s to 17.74 s, depending on the adopted variant. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioenergy and Biofuels: Engines Efficiency and Sustainable Mobility)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 4208 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Cycle-to-Cycle Variation of the Combustion Process in a Diesel Engine Fueled with Rapeseed Oil—Diethyl Ether Blends

by Krzysztof Górski, Ruslans Smigins, Jonas Matijošius and Dimitrios Tziourtzioumis

Energies 2023, 16(2), 720; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16020720 - 7 Jan 2023

Viewed by 1453

Abstract

The application of rapeseed oil (RO) blends with diesel fuel and/or alcohols and/or ethers is known to significantly affect the combustion process. Aiming to further investigate the effects of rapeseed oil in a blend with diethyl ether (DEE) on this process, the coefficient of variation of the mean indicated pressure (COV_MIP) of a 2.5l direct injection diesel engine was calculated. The analysis of the experimental results revealed the repeatability of the combustion process variability of diesel fuel (DF), rapeseed oil (RO), and DEE/RO blends containing up to 20% DEE. In these cases, the COV_MIP does not exceed 4%. Additionally, it became obvious that for a higher content of DEE in blend with RO, the cyclic repeatability of the mean indicated pressure (MIP) was reduced. Thus, the values of COV_MIP for fuels containing 30 and 40% of DEE by vol. in blend with RO were even three times higher than the values obtained for the reference fuel i.e., DF. The results indicate that the increased content of DEE in the mixture with RO is disadvantageous as it leads to excessive unevenness of the engine operation compared to its fueling with DF. The observed deterioration of the combustion process is caused by the vapor locks, which are formed due to the evaporation of volatile DEE in the fuel line, leading to the interrupted operation of the fuel injector. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioenergy and Biofuels: Engines Efficiency and Sustainable Mobility)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

17 pages, 834 KiB

Open AccessReview

Optimizing Forest-Biomass-Distribution Logistics from a Multi-Level Perspective—Review

by Zygmunt Stanula, Marek Wieruszewski, Adam Zydroń and Krzysztof Adamowicz

Energies 2023, 16(24), 7997; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16247997 - 10 Dec 2023

Viewed by 1098

Abstract

Forest and wood biomass represent a sustainable reservoir of raw materials and energy, offering a viable alternative to fossil fuels. These resources find extensive use in producing bioproducts, including solid wood and wood materials. The judicious exploitation of forest and wood biomass can be pivotal in reducing carbon emissions and securing material and energy independence. The business viability of producing valuable goods from woody biomass hinges on ensuring its sustained availability. This necessitates access to high-quality biomass at a minimal cost, demanding the efficient design of wood-biomass-distribution logistics. Furthermore, it is imperative to give equal weight to social and ecological considerations in shaping the forest- and wood-biomass-distribution logistics, thereby ensuring the sustainable utilization of this renewable raw material source. This article presents research focused on the business optimization of distribution logistics for specific forms of forest biomass used in wood material production. While most studies have primarily concentrated on the business or ecological issues of biomass utilization, this article offers a comprehensive insight by addressing business, ecological, and social facets in assessing and optimizing wood-biomass-distribution logistics. Multi-stakeholder life-cycle-assessment optimization takes into account the reduction of greenhouse gases as an ecological metric, with production costs and capital expenditure forming the business metrics. At the same time, the generation of employment opportunities is commonly regarded as the pivotal social criterion. There remains a necessity for further exploration into the potential social impacts of forest biomass utilization. Additionally, developing enhanced methodologies and decision-support tools for scheduling wood-biomass-distribution logistics that holistically consider business, ecological, and social criteria is an essential ongoing task. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioenergy and Biofuels: Engines Efficiency and Sustainable Mobility)

► Show Figures