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The target of the European Union (EU) from the 1990s has been to reduce the level of greenhouse gas (GHG) in the climate by 40 % by 2030 [1]. Currently the transport sector is one of the biggest greenhouse gas emission producer in the EU [2]. Drop-in biofuels can contribute to the reduction of GHG emissions in the transport sector. Diesel R33, a newly developed biofuel enables sustainable mobility fulfilling the European diesel fuel specification and reduces the GHG emissions by about 18.2 % against fossil diesel fuel. Diesel R33 is made of 7 % used cooking oil methyl ester, 26 % hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and 67 % high quality diesel fuel. HVO was produced from rapeseed and palm oil. This new biofuel was tested in a fleet of 280 vehicles (passenger cars, light duty vehicles, off-road vehicles and urban buses) covering all emission classes. The impact of the new fuel on the vehicles, their emissions and the engine oil aging was investigated.

Increasing the proportion of renewable energy in the transport sector and therefore the reduction of the dependence on fossil oil is a prime political and economic goal in Europe and also in many other parts of the world. In the diesel sector, especially vegetable oil methyl ester is introduced. The blending of commercial diesel fuel with up to 7 % of biodiesel leads to a lot of problems in the range of engine oil in cars. Because of the regeneration of diesel particle filter, there is an increase entry of unburnt fuel into the engine oil. The first effect of this fuel entry is the engine oil dilution which can be observed for all diesel fuels. Unlike biodiesel, commercial diesel fuel can mostly evaporate out of the engine oil because of its boiling range between 165 °C and 360 °C (73 % of the fuel has a boiling point under 320 °C). The boiling range of fossil diesel fuel was measured in preparation of this study.

One political and economic aim in Europe is to increase the use of renewable energy resources. In the transport sector, up to 10 % of fossil diesel fuel should be replaced by biogenic fuels by 2020. This also means a reduction in crude oil dependency. In the area of diesel fuel, fatty acid methyl esters are introduced since over 20 years as biodiesel. However, biodiesel can lead to an increase of engine oil dilution in passenger cars with diesel particulate filters. During the regeneration of the particulate filters, there is an entry of fuel components in the engine oil. While most of the diesel fuel (DF) evaporates from the engine oil, biodiesel remains in the oil and can cause sludge formation in the engine. A promising approach to reduce this problem is the use of a new type of biogenic fuel, called hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO). This is also produced from vegetable oil or animal fat. Like biodiesel, HVO is free of sulfur and any aromatics.