In the future Europe should be clean and without internal combustion engines. John Deere experts say it’s impossible to completely abandon diesel in the short term. But it is easy to make old engines more environmentally friendly.
According to John Deere, the MultiFuel engine allows the use of biofuels such as pure vegetable oil, biodiesel, renewable diesel fuel, standard diesel fuel, or fuel blends. In addition, the engine meets Stage V emissions standards.
It is also worth noting that biofuel production produces by-products essential to the economy, such as high-quality protein carriers which can be used as animal feed. As a result, the use of biofuels does not necessarily interfere with food production.
The engine was developed by John Deere, Straubing Technology Center and Kaiserslautern Technical University in a joint project. The development was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture and supported by the German Agency for Renewable Resources.
With the “one tank” solution, which is suitable for any fuel in pure and mixed form, even vegetable oils produced on the farm can be used.
What remains to be solved is the political dispute, which remains a problem, as the relevant authorities must create a fair taxation of biofuels in agriculture in relation to standard diesel fuel. Otherwise, the MultiFuel engine might not live up to expectations.
John Deere Multifuel Engine Principle.
Sensors on the John Deere MultiFuel engine and aftertreatment systems provide data that allows the unit to identify different fuel blends. Based on this information, the Electronic Engine Control Unit (ECU) selects the proper software setting for optimal engine performance and compliance with Stage V/Tier 4 emission standards.
This will enable farmers and forestry companies to reduce their CO2 emissions, as well as respond to price fluctuations or fuel diversification on the market. EU Stage V emission standards can be met for all fuel combinations.
John Deere PVS engine upgrade
In order for the renowned 6.8L PVS six-cylinder engine to run on a biofuel blend, some significant changes had to be made to the engine.
Among the main improvements are:
- a more powerful fuel pump,
- additional sensors that detect the type of fuel mixture
- a larger volume of fuel lines,
- the need for special AdBlue,
- engine software update
- other characteristics of the starting and warm-up phases.
The production launch date is not yet known. But I think as soon as the biofuel bills are approved. Yellow-green tractors with rapeseed flower, will appear in the fields. The trend is toward the first John Deer multi-fuel tractors appearing on farms in the European Union, particularly in Germany and Holland.
