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The use of alternative fuels and among them the biofuels of 1st generation - fatty acid methyl esters FAME's and pure plants oils - for propulsion of IC engines is an important objective in several countries in order to save the fossil fuels and to limit the CO₂ production. The properties of bio-fuels and bio-blend-fuels can vary and this has an impact on the operation and emissions of diesel engines and on the modern exhaust aftertreatment systems. The present paper represents the most important results obtained with RME at AFHB, EMPA and EC-JRC. Most of the activities were performed in the network project BioExDi (Biofuels, Exhaust Systems Diesel) in collaboration between industry and research institutes.

Macroscopic studies and scanning electron microscope (SEM), as well as transmission electron microscope (TEM) research were carried out to investigate the nature and properties of particulate matter (PM) deposited in three diesel particulate filters (DPFs) operating with different fuels: 100% rapeseed methyl ester (RME100), a blend of 20% RME and 80% diesel (RME20), as well as 100% diesel (RME0). The DPFs were catalytically coated with V₂O₅/TiO₂. The PM deposits were either extracted from sectioned DPFs or studied "in situ," as deposited. In the RME100-DPF, the lowest soot and highest ash depositions are found. The higher amount of ash in RME100-DPF, as well as the higher participation of the element Ca in the ash from this filter, indicates that in addition to lubricating oil, the RME fuel contributes also to ash formation. Ash is found accumulating in the plugged inlet channels only in RME100 and as a few tens of μm-thick layer on the channel walls of all three filters.