Pruebas de larga duración con biodiésel de palma en una flota de servicio público en Bogotá

A long-term test (100,000 km) was carried out in order to evaluate the performance of five (5) blends of diesel and palm biodiesel (B5, B10, B20, B30 and B50) compared to fossil diesel (B0) . The tests used several buses of the mass transport system in the city of Bogota operating under normal conditions at 2600 meters above sea level and an average temperature of 14°C. The results showed that the performance and fuel consumption of the buses using the biodiesel blends were very similar to those of the buses using only diesel fuel (the control buses). The vehicles' opacity was measured every 10,000 km and the results showed that the buses using diesel- biodiesel blends had lower opacity values than the buses using fossil diesel fuel. This was confirmed by the results of the on-road emissions test which showed reduction in CO2 and particulate matter emissions. Mechanical inspections of the injection systems of the vehicles were performed every 50,000 km and showed that there were no anomalies and the wear-out of the different components was similar for all the tested vehicles. It was also found that packaging and O-rings of all vehicles were in good condition.