Energy recovery from waste animal fats and detailed testing on combustion, performance, and emission analysis of IC engine fueled with their blends enriched with metal oxide nanoparticles

Abstract

The interest in researching alternative fuels is vital due to the alarming levels of environmental hazards of petroleum fuels. Since biodiesel is biodegradable, renewable, and has lower emissions, it has emerged as an appropriate choice for further investigation. The biodiesel and diesel blends with nanoparticle additives also contribute to improving efficiency and reducing the engine's exhaust emissions. Accordingly, this research analyzed the engine combustion, performance, and emission characteristics using Sheep fat (SF) biofuel blended with diesel fuel. The transesterification process produced the SF biodiesel, and the Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were added as additives to improve the engine behaviors. The Sheep fat (SF) biofuel of 20 % volumetrically blended with conventional diesel fuel of 80 % (B20). Results of in-cylinder pressure, HRR, and BTE were recorded at the higher value using B20+ZnO 100 ppm and B20+ZnO 50 ppm blend fuel and BSFC was lowered compared with the nanoparticles-free fuel blends at higher load. Furthermore, the carbon monoxide (CO), Hydrocarbons (HC), and smoke levels have significantly decreased for both the B20+ZnO 100 and B20+ZnO 50 blends. For the B20+ZnO 100 fuel, these levels have decreased by roughly 28 %, 41 %, and 22 %, respectively, while for the B20+ZnO 50 blend, they have decreased by 24 %, 38 %, and 14 % at higher engine load. On the other hand, UHC, NOX, and smoke reduction percentage by using B20+ZnO 100 blend fuel is about 54.5, 52.4, and 45.4 % were reduced in comparison to these of diesel fuel. Compared with other test fuels, B20+ZnO 100 and B20+ZnO 50 blends significantly improve all engine characteristics.