Effect of nanoparticles additives on tribological behaviour of advanced biofuels

Abstract

The energy crisis and climate change have brought attention to developing alternative fuels. Waste tire pyrolysis oil is one of the most effective and renewable alternative fuels. Still, the TPO fuel had poor anti-wear properties than either biodiesel or diesel fuel, resulting in the studies conducted with nanoparticles. The lubricity of fuel is one of the important properties since it is the only lubricant in an engine injection system. Nanoparticles can be used as fuel additives to enhance better lubrication performance. This study presents the tribological behaviour of filtered tire pyrolysis oil (FTPO)-biodiesel-diesel blended fuel with the addition of various types of nanoparticles, including magnesium oxide (MgO), graphene (G), aluminium oxide (Al2O3). The tribological experiments were conducted with Four ball tribo-tester, according to the ASTM-D4172 standard at 40 kg, 1200 RPM constant speed and 75 °C temperature. Low concentration for all types of nanoparticle additives provides better performance on anti-friction in the blended fuel due to the protective film formed between the contact surface. 0.1 wt% of Al2O3 nano-fuel showed the best anti-wear performance, which improved by 2.83% compared to the base fuel Al2O3-0.1 and Al2O3-0.2, both reduced 22.09% and 18.33% of WSD, respectively, in compared to PB20FTPO10. The study results indicate that the addition of 0.2 wt% MgO nanoparticles performs well in obtaining smooth surface roughness. The Scanning Electron Microscope and Alicona images show lesser wear and damage to the surface with 0.1 wt% concentration of nano-fuel.