Abstract
Rapid depletion of conventional fuel sources has led to the use of alternative fuels and implementation of variant engine technologies to reduce deleterious emissions being released and deliver thermal energy for numerous applications. This research aims to study the usage of mahua methyl ester in a single-cylinder 4-stroke CI engine, optimized to operate in the dual fuel mode. Performance, combustion and emission characteristics are recorded and compared with diesel with the sole aim of finding the blend that provides adequate performance and diminishing emissions. To this effect, the percentage of mahua biodiesel blend, load, biogas flow rate and methane fraction are varied. The experimentation is conducted using three mahua biodiesel blend variants namely B10, B20 and B30. Gaseous fuel comprising biogas (CH4 and CO2 in ratio of 3:2) and methane (CH4) are incorporated in the dual fuel condition at 8 litre per minute (lpm) and 12 lpm. B20 blend demonstrated better performance and emission characteristics. The addition of biodiesel (B20) showed more than 5% improvement in brake thermal efficiency. Additionally, comparing with normal diesel mode, B20 showed lower CO (0.061%) and NOx (615 ppm) emissions. In the dual fuel condition, methane and biogas are effective in reducing the NOx emissions, but with a negative repercussion of extortionately elevated HC and CO emissions. The best combination is deduced to be B20 mahua biodiesel at 8 lpm of biogas flow rate in the dual fuel mode due to better performance and emission characteristics.
Highlights
Performance and emission characteristics of a biogas-fuelled CI engine with mahua biodiesel are presented
It was deduced that augmenting biodiesel percentage in the blends led to a boost in brake thermal efficiency
Ramesha et al [22] provided a justification stating the attributed quality of biodiesel having rich oxygen content and a truncated ignition delay leading to more thermal energy production during combustion
Summary
Due to the strict enforcement of the emission norms, researchers are motivated to develop alternative engine technologies with different fuel blends to tackle the harmful emissions produced during combustion of crude oils. Development of newer fuel and engine technologies is imperative to meet the energy demands. Energy is one of the most vital constituents for the development of any country and sustainability of modern economy. The world energy demand is increasing exponentially and a major portion of the world’s energy is supplied by petrochemical sources. These energy sources are depleting and may get exhausted soon. India is the second most populated country and third biggest consumer of petrochemical products in the world with current consumption of 4,690,000 barrels per day [1]. One viable solution to this complicated issue is the use of blended alternative fuels
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