Compatibility of automotive materials in biodiesel: A review

Use of biodiesel in automobile can significantly reduce our dependence of fossil fuel and help reduce environmental pollution. However, there are concerns over the compatibility of currently used automotive materials in biodiesel. A few automobile manufacturers extended their warranty only to lower blends of biodiesel (e. g. B5). Higher blends (e. g. B50 or B100) are still not covered by warranty. In automobile fuel system, metallic materials like ferrous alloy and non-ferrous alloys, and elastomers come in contact with fuel. Biodiesel, having different chemical characteristics from diesel, can interact with materials in a different way. It can cause corrosive and tribological attack on metallic components and degrade elastomer parts. This paper attempts to present an overview of the work done so far on the compatibility of biodiesel with automotive materials. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.