Effect of hydrogen enriched air on the performance and emissions of mahua oil fuelled diesel engine

Abstract

Neat vegetable oils as fuels for diesel engines give rise to engine performance and durability problems due to the differences in some of the properties between vegetable oils and diesel. The objective of the present work was to improve the performance of mahua oil fuelled diesel engine using hydrogen enriched air. Mahua oil was used as the main fuel in a direct injection diesel engine and hydrogen enriched air was supplied at different flow rates through a gas carburetor. The performance and emission parameters of the dual fuel engine were studied at different loads and compared with corresponding base line diesel and mahua oil fuelled operating conditions. Mahua oil combustion with varying quantities of hydrogen (10 lpm, 20 lpm, 30 lpm, 40 lpm and 50 lpm) enriched air resulted in improvement in brake thermal efficiency and reduction in smoke density. The maximum thermal efficiency was recorded at 40 lpm hydrogen enrichment. Hydrogen enrichment was found to increase the combustion rate of mahua oil. The NO X concentration was higher for mahua oil operation with hydrogen enrichment; but lower than diesel.