Experimental evaluation of diesel blends mixed with municipal plastic waste pyrolysis oil on performance and emission characteristics of CI engine

Abstract

The growing population's amassed municipal mixed plastic waste (MMPW) and the depletion of fossil fuels are the major causes of concern. Explosive population growth has put us on the brink of an energy crisis. Therefore, an alternative energy source is required to meet the energy demand of a growing population. The chemical recycling of MMPW may be feasible to reduce plastic waste and recover energy products, especially liquid. Pyrolysis is a chemical recycling process employed in the study to produce high-grade plastic oil (PO). An investigation has been conducted on the pyrolysis of MMPW at 550 °C and has obtained 69.8 wt% PO. Moreover, different blends of PO (PO25D75, PO50D50, PO75D25 and PO100) have been used to analyse the CI engine characteristics. The engine fueled with neat plastic oil produced 6.90% less BTE than the reference diesel. However, increasing the PO proportion in diesel increased cylinder pressure and the net heat release rate (NHRR). The emissions such as CO, HC, and NOx were higher for all plastic oil blends at a 12 kg engine load, whereas CO2 and smoke opacity were reduced by 21.81% and 4.47% for PO100 at a higher engine load (12 kg) as compared to reference diesel.