John Deere Tests Multi Fuel Concept
John Deere successfully tested the use of multiple fuels in the same standard tractor in Germany. Sensors managed to recognize the fuel (or mixtures thereof) used and control the engine management so that the engine continued to meet Stage V emissions requirements.
John Deere, in collaboration with the Technical University of Kaiserslautern and TFZ (a kind of German NPPL), looked into whether a standard production tractor (a 6135 R) could handle multiple fuels. Besides diesel, for example, biodiesel or vegetable oil.
Biodiesel more expensive than regular diesel
After all, biodiesel already has the disadvantage of being somewhat more expensive than regular diesel. And if you also have to put a special engine in the tractor for this purpose, whereby the user is tied to biodiesel for the entire life of the tractor, this does not help the future of biodiesel.
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The research project not only showed that the current tractor engine in the John Deere could also handle biodiesel and rapeseed oil, but also that the existing built-in sensors could recognize which fuel (or a mix of fuels) had been used. It was also possible to adjust the engine management so that the tractor continues to operate neatly within the emission requirements of Phase V.
Regenerating particulate filters with vegetable oil fuels
The Technical University of Kaiserslautern (TUK) developed a solution for regenerating particulate filters with vegetable oil fuels. These studies have also shown that rapeseed oil and rapeseed oil-diesel blends have significant potential to reduce emissions in the engine.
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