Impact of Tamarindus Indica biodiesel blends on performance and exhaust emissions characteristics of light duty compression ignitionengine

Abstract

Tamarind (Tamarindus Indica) is an integral part of South Indian cuisine. Its pulp is used to add sourness to south Indian curries. However tamarind seeds which are having a considerable amount of lipid in it are thrown away. Our main objective is to produce Tamarind biodiesel (TB) from tamarind seed oil and investigate its effect on performance and exhaust emissionsof CI engine. Oil was extracted from Tamarind seeds and was converted to biodiesel by transesterification process with NaOH as catalyst. Tests were performed using TB5, TB10, TB15 blends with 1500 rpm rated speed and compression ratio of18. The performance test results revealed that BTE of B15 was greater in comparison to other blends as well as diesel. However BSFC for TB blends were greater compared to neat diesel. Considerable reductions in exhaust emissions were observed with TB blends. TB10 showed apical reduction of 27% in CO and 15% reduction in smoke. TB5 showed 25% HC reduction followed by TB10 with 19.25% reductions. TB15 showed 19.36% of highest NOx reduction followed by TB10 with 10.7% NOx reduction. TB10 proved to give optimum test results for performance and emissions. From the results it can be concluded that TB can be considered as a viable option for biodiesels.