Assessment of CI Engine Performance and Exhaust Air Quality Outfitted with Real-Time Emulsion Fuel Injection System

Abstract

The main target of the current research work is effectively eliminating fossil fuel dependency and improving the exhaust air quality of conventional Compression Ignition (CI) engines. This research paper demonstrates for the first time that a nanofluid (water without surfactant) stored in separate tanks can be quantified, collected, and immediately emulsified by a high shear mixer before transfer into the combustion chamber of a diesel engine. The experiment was carried out under different load states (25%, 50%, 75% and 100%) with a constant speed of 1500 rpm. Biofuel was extracted from citronella leaves using an energy-intensive process. The 5% water share was used for preparing the biofuel emulsion and nano-biofuel emulsion. A cobalt chromate nanoadditive was used to make the nanofluid. An experimental investigation was performed with prepared test fuels, namely, ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD), 100% Citronella (B100), surfactant-free Diesel emulsion (SDE), surfactant-free bioemulsion (SBE), and Surfactant free nano-bioemulsion (SNBE), in a test engine. The properties of the sample test fuels was ensured according to EN and ASTM standards. The observation performance results show that the SNBE blend exhibited lower BTE (by 0.5%) and higher SFC (by 3.4%) than ULSD at peak load. The emission results show that the SNBE blend exhibited lower HC, CO, NOx, and smoke emissions by 23.86%, 31.81%, 2.94%, and 24.63%, respectively, compared to USD at peak load. The CP and HRR results for SNBE were closer to ULSD fuel. Overall, the novel concept of an RTEFI (Real-time emulsion fuel injection) system was proved to be workable and to maintain its benefits of better fuel economy and greener emissions.