Thermal Performances of Neat Bio-Diesels in Compression Ignition Engine for Diesel Fuel Substitution

Abstract

Over a number of years, the researchers have been exploring relentlessly different biodiesels as an alternative to diesel fuel. Biodiesel is comprised of mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from vegetable oils or animal fats meeting the requirements of ASTM D6751. This paper presents the performance of a single cylinder diesel engine using 100 percent biodiesel from four seed oils like yellow oleander (Thevetia peruviana), grapefruit (Citrus maxima), castor (Ricinus communis) and pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L) respectively. Engine tests were conducted to get the comparative measures of brake power (BP), torque (T), brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), brake thermal efficiency (BTE) and exhaust gas temperature (EGT). Some encouraging findings were recorded and it was found that engine brake power and torque at all loads for all the biodiesel test fuels are similar to that of diesel fuel. The lowest BSFC is obtained for yellow oleander seed oil biodiesel among the four tested biodiesels, while the lowest BTE is obtained for castor seed oil biodiesel.