Evaluating the impact of using various biodiesel blends on the performance of diesel engine at variable load conditions

Abstract

Recently, researchers use various types of alternative fuels, for diesel engines. Previous studies, reveals that biodiesel with renewable origin, is the most promising alternative fuel, with less impact on the environment. The objective of this paper, is to determine experimentally, the impact of using different biodiesel blends, extracted from Sun flower, Palm, and Corn oils, on the performance on diesel engine. The engine was operated at variable load and fixed speed. The following main parameters were determined: Torque, Brake power, Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC), Brake thermal efficiency, Fuel consumption, and Exhaust temperature. Results show that when all the biodiesels were used as a fuel to the engine, the engine has lower BSFC and exhaust temperature, and higher brake thermal efficiency, than when using pure diesel as fuel for the engine. This implies that using the biodiesel blends is more economically than using pure diesel as a fuel for the engine. In addition, it was concluded that using all these blends produces less NOx emissions.