Influence of Simarouba Glauca (Laxmi taru) biodiesel on engine performance and emissions of conventional compression ignition engine

Abstract

The present paper reports the performance and emission studies for a four stroke single cylinder CI-DI unmodified engine using laxmi taru biodiesel as fuel. Laxmi taru biodiesel has 80% potential of extracting oil from the seeds as compared to other biofuels. The properties of laxmi taru biodiesel fuel nearly match the properties of diesel fuel. In this paper performance and emission tests are conducted for different blends such as S0 (0% laxmi taru + 100% diesel), S5, S10, S20, S40 by volume. At full load conditions (4.9 kW) brake thermal efficiency (BTE) decreased for S5, S10, S20 and S40 blends by 3.26%, 4.53%, 3.16% and 5.54% respectively as compared to diesel fuel operation because of poor heating value of laxmi taru biodiesel. Presence of oxygen content in the fuel and better combustion leads to decreased carbon monoxide (CO) emission for S5, S10, S20 and S40 blends by 4%, 8%, 12% and 28% as that of diesel. Similarly hydrocarbon (HC) emission reduced by 16.21%, 24.32% and 29.7% in S10, S20 and S40 blends respectively. Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) emission increased by 27.19%, 30.57%, 15.2% and 19.3% for S5, S10, S20 and S40 blends respectively in comparison with diesel fuel, under full load conditions due to high incylinder temperature. Usage of laxmi taru biodiesel in CI engines resulting in drastic reduction in carbon based (CO, HC) emissions without altering the performance of the engine. Therefore laxmi taru biodiesel is better alternate fuel for CI engines.