This paper deals with numerical analysis of injection process using biodiesel/mineral diesel fuel blends with the aim to search for the potentials to reduce engine harmful emissions. The considered fuels are neat biodiesel from rapeseed oil and its blends with mineral diesel D2. For the numerical analysis a one-dimensional mathematical model is employed. In order to model accurately the investigated fuels, the employed empirical expressions for their properties are determined by experiments. To verify the mathematical model and the empirical expressions, experiments and numerical simulation are run on a mechanical control diesel fuel injection M system at several operating regimes. Injection process at many different operating regimes and using several fuel blends are then investigated numerically. Attention is focused on the injection characteristics, especially on fuelling, fuelling at some stage of injection, mean injection rate, mean injection pressure, injection delay and injection timing, which influence the most important engine characteristics. The analysis of the obtained results reveals that, while keeping engine performance within acceptable limits, harmful emissions can be reduced by adjusting appropriately pump injection timing in dependence on the biodiesel content. This prediction is also confirmed experimentally. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.