Diesel engine performance of jatropha biodiesel: a review

Abstract

A review of engine performance tests conducted by several researchers using jatropha biodiesel is presented. The three engine performance parameters considered are Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC), Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTH) and Exhaust Gas Temperature (EGT). From the review, jatropha biodiesel functions smoothly in diesel engines. Also, the observation during testing in most engines showed a decrease in brake thermal efficiencies using jatropha biodiesel when compared with pure diesel fuel. In addition, the brake specific fuel consumption increases with jatropha biodiesel when compared with pure diesel. Likewise, the exhaust gas temperature generated from jatropha biodiesel fuel is lower at the exhaust than from diesel fuel. The work revealed that blending jatropha biodiesel with pure diesel (specifically between B5-B30) gave more preferred and appreciable engine performance than when the engine is either run on jatropha biodiesel (B100) or pure diesel (D100) alone. The review also highlights some challenges of using jatropha biodiesel in diesel engines and gives useful recommendations for improving jatropha biodiesel engine utilization.