The effect of biodiesel oxidation on engine performance and emissions

Biodiesel is an alternative fuel consisting of the alkyl monoesters of fatty acids from vegetable oils or animal fats. Previous research has shown that biodiesel-fueled engines produce less carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons, and particulate emissions compared to diesel fuel. One drawback of biodiesel is that it is more prone to oxidation than petroleum-based diesel fuel. In its advanced stages, this oxidation can cause the fuel to become acidic and to form insoluble gums and sediments that can plug fuel filters. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of oxidized biodiesel on engine performance and emissions. A John Deere 4276T turbocharged DI diesel engine was fueled with oxidized and unoxidized biodiesel and the performance and emissions were compared with No. 2 diesel fuel. The neat biodiesels, 20% blends, and the base fuel (No. 2 diesel) were tested at two different loads (100 and 20%) and three injection timings (3° advanced, standard; 3° retarded). The tests were performed at steady-state conditions at a single engine speed of 1400 rpm. The engine performance of the neat biodiesels and their blends was similar to that of No. 2 diesel fuel with the same thermal efficiency, but higher fuel consumption. Compared with unoxidized biodiesel, oxidized neat biodiesel produced 15 and 16% lower exhaust carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons, respectively. No statistically significant difference was found between the oxides of nitrogen and smoke emissions from oxidized and unoxidized biodiesel.     

Performance and emission analysis of compression ignition engine using biodiesels from Acid oil,Mahua oil,and Castor oil

Research on and use of biodiesels for engines is growing continuously in the present era. Compression ignition (CI) engine performance for biodiesels of blends B20 from Acid oil, Mahua oil, and Castor oil is experimentally investigated. The engine performance analysis in the form of brake‐specific fuel consumption, brake‐specific energy consumption, brake thermal efficiency (BTE), exhaust gas temperature (EGT), and air fuel ratio are compared with diesel as base fuel. Emission characteristics like CO, CO₂, NOx, and opacity are comparatively studied in detail for the considered biodiesels. The entire study is compared with the performance of engine when pure diesel is chosen as fuel. From the complete analysis it was observed that the BTE was higher for Acid oil and Mahua oil among the biodiesels used. And regarding CO emissions, Mahua oil showed lower effect than other biodiesels. Upto 6% increase in EGT of Mahua oil was obtained at no load and for other loads the percent reduced. For all the biodiesels the % enhancement in Co, CO₂, and NOx was more than 60% at highest load compared with diesel.     

The effect of clove oil and diesel fuel blends on the engine performance and exhaust emissions of a compression-ignition engine

Diesel engines provide the major power source for transportation in the world and contribute to the prosperity of the worldwide economy. However, recent concerns over the environment, increasing fuel prices and the scarcity of fuel supplies have promoted considerable interest in searching for alternatives to petroleum based fuels. Based on this background, the main purpose of this investigation is to evaluate clove stem oil (CSO) as an alternative fuel for diesel engines. To this end, an experimental investigation was performed on a four-stroke, four-cylinder water-cooled direct injection diesel engine to study the performance and emissions of an engine operated using the CSO–diesel blended fuels. The effects of the CSO–diesel blended fuels on the engine brake thermal efficiency, brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), specific energy consumption (SEC), exhaust gas temperatures and exhaust emissions were investigated. The experimental results reveal that the engine brake thermal efficiency and BSFC of the CSO–diesel blended fuels were higher than the pure diesel fuel while at the same time they exhibited a lower SEC than the latter over the entire engine load range. The variations in exhaust gas temperatures between the tested fuels were significant only at medium speed operating conditions. Furthermore, the HC emissions were lower for the CSO–diesel blended fuels than the pure diesel fuel whereas the NO_x emissions were increased remarkably when the engine was fuelled with the 50% CSO–diesel blended fuel.     

Performance and emissions characteristics of Jatropha oil (preheated and blends) in a direct injection compression ignition engine

The scarce and rapidly depleting conventional petroleum resources have promoted research for alternative fuels for internal combustion engines. Among various possible options, fuels derived from triglycerides (vegetable oils/animal fats) present promising “greener” substitutes for fossil fuels. Vegetable oils, due to their agricultural origin, are able to reduce net CO₂ emissions to the atmosphere along with import substitution of petroleum products. However, several operational and durability problems of using straight vegetable oils in diesel engines reported in the literature, which are because of their higher viscosity and low volatility compared to mineral diesel fuel.In the present research, experiments were designed to study the effect of reducing Jatropha oil’s viscosity by increasing the fuel temperature (using waste heat of the exhaust gases) and thereby eliminating its effect on combustion and emission characteristics of the engine. Experiments were also conducted using various blends of Jatropha oil with mineral diesel to study the effect of reduced blend viscosity on emissions and performance of diesel engine. A single cylinder, four stroke, constant speed, water cooled, direct injection diesel engine typically used in agricultural sector was used for the experiments. The acquired data were analyzed for various parameters such as thermal efficiency, brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), smoke opacity, CO₂, CO and HC emissions. While operating the engine on Jatropha oil (preheated and blends), performance and emission parameters were found to be very close to mineral diesel for lower blend concentrations. However, for higher blend concentrations, performance and emissions were observed to be marginally inferior.     

Diesel engine performance and exhaust emission analysis using waste cooking biodiesel fuel with an artificial neural network

This study deals with artificial neural network (ANN) modeling of a diesel engine using waste cooking biodiesel fuel to predict the brake power, torque, specific fuel consumption and exhaust emissions of the engine. To acquire data for training and testing the proposed ANN, a two cylinders, four-stroke diesel engine was fuelled with waste vegetable cooking biodiesel and diesel fuel blends and operated at different engine speeds. The properties of biodiesel produced from waste vegetable oil was measured based on ASTM standards. The experimental results revealed that blends of waste vegetable oil methyl ester with diesel fuel provide better engine performance and improved emission characteristics. Using some of the experimental data for training, an ANN model was developed based on standard Back-Propagation algorithm for the engine. Multi layer perception network (MLP) was used for non-linear mapping between the input and output parameters. Different activation functions and several rules were used to assess the percentage error between the desired and the predicted values. It was observed that the ANN model can predict the engine performance and exhaust emissions quite well with correlation coefficient (R) 0.9487, 0.999, 0.929 and 0.999 for the engine torque, SFC, CO and HC emissions, respectively. The prediction MSE (Mean Square Error) error was between the desired outputs as measured values and the simulated values were obtained as 0.0004 by the model.     

Biodiesel production from inedible animal tallow and an experimental investigation of its use as alternative fuel in a direct injection diesel engine

In this study, a substitute fuel for diesel engines was produced from inedible animal tallow and its usability was investigated as pure biodiesel and its blends with petroleum diesel fuel in a diesel engine. Tallow methyl ester as biodiesel fuel was prepared by base-catalyzed transesterification of the fat with methanol in the presence of NaOH as catalyst. Fuel properties of methyl ester, diesel fuel and blends of them (5%, 20% and 50% by volume) were determined. Viscosity and density of fatty acid methyl ester have been found to meet ASTM D6751 and EN 14214 specifications. Viscosity and density of tallow methyl esters are found to be very close to that of diesel. The calorific value of biodiesel is found to be slightly lower than that of diesel. An experimental study was carried out in order to investigate of its usability as alternative fuel of tallow methyl ester in a direct injection diesel engine. It was observed that the addition of biodiesel to the diesel fuel decreases the effective efficiency of engine and increases the specific fuel consumption. This is due to the lower heating value of biodiesel compared to diesel fuel. However, the effective engine power was comparable by biodiesel compared with diesel fuel. Emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen (NO_x), sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and smoke opacity were reduced around 15%, 38.5%, 72.7% and 56.8%, respectively, in case of tallow methyl esters (B100) compared to diesel fuel. Besides, the lowest CO, NO_x emissions and the highest exhaust temperature were obtained for B20 among all other fuels. The reductions in exhaust emissions made tallow methyl esters and its blends, especially B20 a suitable alternative fuel for diesel and thus could help in controlling air pollution. Based on this study, animal tallow methyl esters and its blends with petroleum diesel fuel can be used a substitute for diesel in direct injection diesel engines without any engine modification.     

Performance of jatropha oil blends in a diesel engine

Results are presented on tests on a single-cylinder direct-injection engine operating on diesel fuel, jatropha oil, and blends of diesel and jatropha oil in proportions of 97.4%/2.6%; 80%/20%; and 50%/50% by volume. The results covered a range of operating loads on the engine. Values are given for the chemical and physical properties of the fuels, brake specific fuel consumption, brake power, brake thermal efficiency, engine torque, and the concentrations of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and oxygen in the exhaust gases. Carbon dioxide emissions were similar for all fuels, the 97.4% diesel/2.6% jatropha fuel blend was observed to be the lower net contributor to the atmospheric level. The trend of carbon monoxide emissions was similar for the fuels but diesel fuel showed slightly lower emissions to the atmosphere. The test showed that jatropha oil could be conveniently used as a diesel substitute in a diesel engine. The test further showed increases in brake thermal efficiency, brake power and reduction of specific fuel consumption for jatropha oil and its blends with diesel generally, but the most significant conclusion from the study is that the 97.4% diesel/2.6% jatropha fuel blend produced maximum values of the brake power and brake thermal efficiency as well as minimum values of the specific fuel consumption. The 97.4%/2.6% fuel blend yielded the highest cetane number and even better engine performance than the diesel fuel suggesting that jatropha oil can be used as an ignition-accelerator additive for diesel fuel.     

柴油机清洁含氧燃料及其发展

本文对柴油机含氧燃料进行了综述,对醇类燃料、醚类燃料、生物柴油、酯类燃料、醚酯类清洁含氧燃料的理化性质、排放特性以及在柴油机上的应用进行了讨论,分析了含氧燃料的优缺点,指出了今后柴油机应用含氧燃料的趋势。     

CNG-diesel engine performance and exhaust emission analysis with the aid of artificial neural network

This study investigates the use of artificial neural network (ANN) modelling to predict brake power, torque, break specific fuel consumption (BSFC), and exhaust emissions of a diesel engine modified to operate with a combination of both compressed natural gas CNG and diesel fuels. A single cylinder, four-stroke diesel engine was modified for the present work and was operated at different engine loads and speeds. The experimental results reveal that the mixtures of CNG and diesel fuel provided better engine performance and improved the emission characteristics compared with the pure diesel fuel. For the ANN modelling, the standard back-propagation algorithm was found to be the optimum choice for training the model. A multi-layer perception network was used for non-linear mapping between the input and output parameters. It was found that the ANN model is able to predict the engine performance and exhaust emissions with a correlation coefficient of 0.9884, 0.9838, 0.95707, and 0.9934 for the engine torque, BSFC, NO_x and exhaust temperature, respectively.     

柴油机清洁含氧燃料及其发展

本文对柴油机含氧燃料进行了综述,对醇类燃料、醚类燃料、生物柴油、酯类燃料、醚酯类清洁含氧燃料的理化性质、排放特性以及在柴油机上的应用进行了讨论,分析了含氧燃料的优缺点,指出了今后柴油机应用含氧燃料的趋势。     

A diesel engine's performance and exhaust emissions

This paper determines, using artificial neural-networks (ANNs), the performance of and exhaust emissions from a diesel engine with respect to injection pressure, engine speed and throttle position. The design injection-pressure of the diesel engine, for the turbocharger and pre-combustion chamber used, is 150 bar. Experiments have been performed for four pressures, namely 100, 150, 200 and 250 bar with throttle positions of 50, 75 and 100%. Engine torque, power, brake mean effective pressure, specific fuel consumption, fuel flow, and exhaust emissions such as SO₂, CO₂, NO_x and smoke level (%N) have been investigated. The back-propagation learning algorithm with three different variants, single and two hidden layers, and a logistic sigmoid transfer-function have been used in the network. In order to train the network, the results of these measurements have been used. Injection pressure, engine speed, and throttle position have been used as the input layer; performance values and exhaust emissions characteristics have also been used as the output layer. It is shown that the R² values are about 0.9999 for the training data, and 0.999 for the test data; RMS values are smaller than 0.01; and mean % errors are smaller than 8.5 for the test data.     

Performance and emission analysis of cottonseed oil methyl ester in a diesel engine

In this study, performance and emissions of cottonseed oil methyl ester in a diesel engine was experimentally investigated. For the study, cottonseed oil methyl ester (CSOME) was added to diesel fuel, numbered D2, by volume of 5%(B5), 20%(B20), 50%(B50) and 75%(B75) as well as pure CSOME (B100). Fuels were tested in a single cylinder, direct injection, air cooled diesel engine. The effects of CSOME-diesel blends on engine performance and exhaust emissions were examined at various engine speeds and full loaded engine. The effect of B5, B20, B50, B75, B100 and D2 on the engine power, engine torque, bsfc's and exhaust gasses temperature were clarified by the performance tests. The influences of blends on CO, NO_x, SO₂ and smoke opacity were investigated by emission tests. The experimental results showed that the use of the lower blends (B5) slightly increases the engine torque at medium and higher speeds in compression ignition engines. However, there were no significant differences in performance values of B5, B20 and diesel fuel. Also with the increase of the biodiesel in blends, the exhaust emissions were reduced. The experimental results showed that the lower contents of CSOME in the blends can partially be substituted for the diesel fuel without any modifications in diesel engines.     

Physico-chemical properties of ethanol–diesel blend fuel and its effect on performance and emissions of diesel engines

The effects of different ethanol–diesel blended fuels on the performance and emissions of diesel engines have been evaluated experimentally and compared in this paper. The purpose of this project is to find the optimum percentage of ethanol that gives simultaneously better performance and lower emissions. The experiments were conducted on a water-cooled single-cylinder Direct Injection (DI) diesel engine using 0% (neat diesel fuel), 5% (E5–D), 10% (E10–D), 15% (E15–D), and 20% (E20–D) ethanol–diesel blended fuels. With the same rated power for different blended fuels and pure diesel fuel, the engine performance parameters (including power, torque, fuel consumption, and exhaust temperature) and exhaust emissions [Bosch smoke number, CO, NO_x, total hydrocarbon (THC)] were measured. The results indicate that: the brake specific fuel consumption and brake thermal efficiency increased with an increase of ethanol contents in the blended fuel at overall operating conditions; smoke emissions decreased with ethanol–diesel blended fuel, especially with E10–D and E15–D. CO and NO_x emissions reduced for ethanol–diesel blends, but THC increased significantly when compared to neat diesel fuel.     

Performance and exhaust emission of turpentine oil powered direct injection diesel engine

This paper presents the results of experimental work carried out to evaluate the combustion performance and exhaust emission characteristics of turpentine oil fuel (TPOF) blended with conventional diesel fuel (DF) fueled in a diesel engine. Turpentine oil derived from pyrolysis mechanism or resin obtained from pine tree dissolved in a volatile liquid can be used as a bio-fuel due to its properties. The test engine was fully instrumented to provide all the required measurements for determination of the needed combustion, performance and exhaust emission variables. The physical and chemical properties of the test fuels were earlier determined in accordance to the ASTM standards.ResultsIndicated that the engine operating on turpentine oil fuel at manufacture's injection pressure – time setting (20.5 MPa and 23° BTDC) had lower carbon monoxide (CO), unburned hydrocarbons (HC), oxides of nitrogen (NO_x), smoke level and particulate matter. Further the results showed that the addition of 30% TPOF with DF produced higher brake power and net heat release rate with a net reduction in exhaust emissions such as CO, HC, NO_x, smoke and particulate matter. Above 30% TPOF blends, such as 40% and 50% TPOF blends, developed lower brake power and net heat release rate were noted due to the fuels lower calorific value; nevertheless, reduced emissions were still noted.     

Study of turbocharged diesel engine operation,pollutant emissions and combustion noise radiation during starting with bio-diesel or n-butanol diesel fuel blends

The control of transient emissions from turbocharged diesel engines is an important objective for automotive manufacturers, as stringent criteria for exhaust emissions must be met. Starting, in particular, is a process of significant importance owing to its major contribution to the overall emissions during a transient test cycle. On the other hand, bio-fuels are getting impetus today as renewable substitutes for conventional fuels, especially in the transport sector. In the present work, experimental tests were conducted at the authors’ laboratory on a bus/truck, turbocharged diesel engine in order to investigate the formation mechanisms of nitric oxide (NO), smoke, and combustion noise radiation during hot starting for various alternative fuel blends. To this aim, a fully instrumented test bed was set up, using ultra-fast response analyzers capable of capturing the instantaneous development of emissions as well as various other key engine and turbocharger parameters. The experimental test matrix included three different fuels, namely neat diesel fuel and two blends of diesel fuel with either bio-diesel (30% by vol.) or n-butanol (25% by vol.). With reference to the neat diesel fuel case during the starting event, the bio-diesel blend resulted in deterioration of both pollutant emissions as well as increased combustion instability, while the n-butanol (normal butanol) blend decreased significantly exhaust gas opacity but increased notably NO emission.     

Preparation,characterisation, engine performance and emission characteristics of coconut oil based hybrid fuels

In this study, hybrid fuels consisting of coconut oil, aqueous ethanol and a surfactant (butan-1-ol) were prepared and tested as a fuel in a direct injection diesel engine. After determining fuel properties such as the density, viscosity and gross calorific values of these fuels, they were used to run a diesel engine. The engine performance and exhaust emissions were investigated and compared with that of diesel. The experimental results show that the efficiency of the hybrid fuels is comparable to that of diesel. As the viscosity of the hybrid fuels decreased and approached that of diesel, the efficiency increased progressively towards that of diesel. The exhaust emissions were lower than those for diesel, except carbon monoxide emissions, which increased. Hence, it is concluded that these hybrid fuels can be used successfully as an alternative fuel in diesel engines without any modifications. Their completely renewable nature ensures that they are environmentally friendly with regard to their emissions characteristics.     

Performance, emission and economic assessment of clove stem oil–diesel blended fuels as alternative fuels for diesel engines

In this study the performance, emission and economic evaluation of using the clove stem oil (CSO)–diesel blended fuels as alternative fuels for diesel engine have been carried out. Experiments were performed to evaluate the impact of the CSO–diesel blended fuels on the engine performance and emissions. The societal life cycle cost (LCC) was chosen as an important indicator for comparing alternative fuel operating modes. The LCC using the pure diesel fuel, 25% CSO and 50% CSO–diesel blended fuels in diesel engine are analysed. These costs include the vehicle first cost, fuel cost and exhaust emissions cost. A complete macroeconomic assessment of the effect of introducing the CSO–diesel blended fuels to the diesel engine is not included in the study. Engine tests show that performance parameters of the CSO–diesel blended fuels do not differ greatly from those of the pure diesel fuel. Slight power losses, combined with an increase in fuel consumption, were experienced with the CSO–diesel blended fuels. This is due to the low heating value of the CSO–diesel blended fuels. Emissions of CO and HC are low for the CSO–diesel blended fuels. NO_x emissions were increased remarkably when the engine was fuelled with the 50% CSO–diesel blended fuel operation mode. A remarkable reduction in the exhaust smoke emissions can be achieved when operating on the CSO–diesel blended fuels. Based on the LCC analysis, the CSO–diesel blended fuels would not be competitive with the pure diesel fuel, even though the environmental impact of emission is valued monetarily. This is due to the high price of the CSO.     

Preparation,characterization, engine combustion and emission characteristics of rapeseed oil based hybrid fuels

In this study, hybrid fuels consisting of rapeseed oil/diesel blend, 1% aqueous ethanol and a surfactant (oleic acid/1-butanol mixture) were prepared and tested as a fuel in a direct injection (DI) diesel engine. The main fuel properties such as the density, viscosity and lower heating value (LHV) of these fuels were measured, and the engine performance, combustion and exhaust emissions were investigated and compared with that of diesel fuel. The experimental results showed that the viscosity and density of the hybrid fuels were decreased and close to that of diesel fuel with the increase of ethanol volume fraction up to 30%. The start of combustion was later than that of diesel fuel and the peak cylinder pressure, peak pressure rise rate and peak heat release rate were higher than those of diesel fuel. The brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) of hybrid fuels was increased with the volume fraction of ethanol and higher than that of diesel. The brake specific energy consumption (BSEC) was almost identical for all test fuels. The smoke emissions were lower than those for diesel fuel at high engine loads, the NO_x emissions were almost similar to those of diesel fuel, but CO and HC emissions were higher, especially at low engine loads.     

Biodiesel fuel in diesel micro-turbine engines: Modelling and experimental evaluation

Many performance and emission tests have been carried out in reciprocating diesel engines that use biodiesel fuel over the past years and very few in gas turbine engines. This work aims at assessing the thermal performance and emissions at full and partial loads of a 30 kW diesel micro-turbine engine fed with diesel, biodiesel and their blends as fuel. A cycle simulation was performed using the Gate Cycle GE Enter software to evaluate the thermal performance of the 30 kW micro-turbine engine. Performance and emission tests were carried out on a 30 kW diesel micro-turbine engine installed in the NEST laboratories of the Federal University of Itajubá, and the performance results were compared with those of the simulation. There was a good agreement between the simulations and the experimental results from the full load down to about 50% of the load for diesel, biodiesel and their blends. The biodiesel and its blends used as fuel in micro-turbines led to no significant changes in the engine performance and behaviour compared to diesel fuel. The exhaust emissions were evaluated for pure biodiesel and its blends and conventional diesel. The results revealed that the use of biodiesel resulted in a slightly higher CO, lower NO_x and no SO₂ emissions.     

Performance and exhaust emissions of a gasoline engine with ethanol blended gasoline fuels using artificial neural network

The purpose of this study is to experimentally analyse the performance and the pollutant emissions of a four-stroke SI engine operating on ethanol–gasoline blends of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% with the aid of artificial neural network (ANN). The properties of bioethanol were measured based on American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards. The experimental results revealed that using ethanol–gasoline blended fuels increased the power and torque output of the engine marginally. For ethanol blends it was found that the brake specific fuel consumption (bsfc) was decreased while the brake thermal efficiency (η_b.th.) and the volumetric efficiency (η_v) were increased. The concentration of CO and HC emissions in the exhaust pipe were measured and found to be decreased when ethanol blends were introduced. This was due to the high oxygen percentage in the ethanol. In contrast, the concentration of CO₂ and NO_x was found to be increased when ethanol is introduced. An ANN model was developed to predict a correlation between brake power, torque, brake specific fuel consumption, brake thermal efficiency, volumetric efficiency and emission components using different gasoline–ethanol blends and speeds as inputs data. About 70% of the total experimental data were used for training purposes, while the 30% were used for testing. A standard Back-Propagation algorithm for the engine was used in this model. A multi layer perception network (MLP) was used for nonlinear mapping between the input and the output parameters. It was observed that the ANN model can predict engine performance and exhaust emissions with correlation coefficient (R) in the range of 0.97–1. Mean relative errors (MRE) values were in the range of 0.46–5.57%, while root mean square errors (RMSE) were found to be very low. This study demonstrates that ANN approach can be used to accurately predict the SI engine performance and emissions.