Comparative study of performance of the DI diesel engine using custard apple biodiesel

Rising prices, depletion of fossil fuels and insufficient supply have created great interest on alternative sources of energy and fuels, for example biodiesel. Vegetable oils have been investigated as potential source for biodiesel, but they bring burden on food supply. Biodiesels obtained from non-edible sources are getting much interest now-a-days. This article deals with performance and emission study of biodiesel extracted from custard apple seeds that is non-edible. The custard apple biodiesel is obtained through the tranesterification process and different blends (B10, B20, B30 and B40) are prepared by mixing them with the conventional diesel fuel. The experiments are conducted on a four-stroke DI diesel engine at a compression ratio of 17.5, and performance and emission characteristics are evaluated. The study revealed that custard apple biodiesel has the potential to be used as an alternative source without any modifications in the engine.