Effect of mixing chamber or carburetor type on the performance of diesel engine operated on biodiesel and producer gas induction

Abstract

Biodiesel-producer gas fueled dual fuel engine suffers from lower brake thermal efficiency with higher unburned hydrocarbon (UBHC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions at all loads. In this present work, to harness energy from producer gas and ensure air and producer gas mixing quality, different mixing chambers (carburetors) have been developed. In the first phase of the work, mixing chambers were analyzed for its mixing performance using experimental approach. Different carburetors were drawn from Y– shape having 45, 60, 900 gas entries as well as with parallel flow gas entry. Based on the results obtained, it was found that parallel flow gas entry carburetor resulted in better mixing of air and producer gas. In the next phase of the work, experimental investigations were conducted to study the effect of air-producer gas mixture quality on the performance, combustion and emission characteristics of single cylinder, four strokes direct injection diesel engine developing 3.7 kW at 1500 rpm operated on dual fuel mode with Honge oil methyl ester (HOME) and producer gas induction. Experimental investigation showed that all carburetors except parallel flow gas entry carburetor resulted in lower performance. Dual fuel engine with parallel flow gas entry carburetor showed 5 to 8 % increased brake thermal efficiency with reduced smoke, HC and CO emission levels compared to other carburetors tested. Based on the study, it is concluded that this area still requires more research with long term engine operation.