Biodiesel Fuel Based on Rapeseed Oil

Abstract

Many countries, including the Russian Federation, conduct research on replacing mineral fuel with environmentally friendly energy. One of these types can be a biodiesel fuel based on vegetable oils. Any oil can be used for this purpose; however, rapeseed oil fuel seems to be the most rational one. Even in ancient times, lanterns were used to light the streets and lubricate metal parts in contact with water and steam to prevent corrosion. It is currently used in hydraulic systems of tractors and agricultural machines. The study aims to determine comparative operational parameters of a diesel engine when running on diesel fuel and fuel based on rapeseed oil. Rapeseed oil differs significantly from diesel fuel in viscosity and flash temperature; if diesel viscosity is 4.3 mm2/s, rapeseed oil viscosity is 75.1 mm2/s. The mixture consisting of 75% rapeseed oil and 25% diesel fuel has a thickness of 36.0 mm2/s, and the density and lower combustion heat are close to the diesel fuel parameters. The studies on preparing the rapeseed oil and diesel fuel mixture have been carried out in the South Ural State Agrarian University. They resulted in developing a production line for making the fuel mixture and conducting the comparative tests of the D-240 engine when working on diesel mineral fuel and when working on fuel consisting of a mix of 75% rapeseed oil and 25% diesel fuel. The authors find that at a nominal frequency of engine crankshaft rotation (2,170 rpm), the engine efficient power is 53.3 kW, running both on diesel fuel and on a mixture of rapeseed oil and diesel fuel. With the same torque of 235 N/m, the efficient fuel mixture consumption is only 17 g/kWh more. This gives the reasons for using this mixture as a fuel in a diesel engine in terms of energy parameters.