Performance and Emission Analysis of Diesel Engine Using Oxygenated compounds

Abstract

The addition of oxygenated compounds to diesel, supply additional oxygen which results in more burning of the fuel and thereby reducing emissions. In the present study, two oxygenated compounds, such as Ethoxy ethanol and Ethylene glycol are considered on a 3.7KW, water cooled, and kirloskar engine. The selected oxygenated compounds are blended with diesel fuel in proportions of 5% and 10% by volume and the experimental study is conducted to evaluate the performance and emissions of the diesel engine. The data obtained is compared with the conventional diesel fuel and the results reveal that Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTE) decreased with increase in the blend percentage. CO2, HC emissions decreased while NOX emissions increased. Majority of the world's energy needs are supplied through petro-chemical sources, coal and natural gases, with the exception of hydro-electricity and nuclear energy, all these sources are finite and as current usage rates will be consumed shortly. Out of these diesel fuels have an essential function in the industrial transports and agricultural goods due to its low cost and high thermal efficiency. Fossil fuels are the largest producer of CO2 emissions and the significant use of fossil fuels is thickening the CO2 blanket over the Earth. This blanket traps ultra-violet (UV) rays (which are essentially heat) that have been originally received by the Earth from the Sun. As the world is becoming more advanced in technology more energy is being used to keep up with the changing requirements. It is essential to improve the efficiency with the usage of natural resources, and develop renewable alternatives wherever possible to protect resources on which the current and future generations depend. The diesel industry is under increasing pressure worldwide to find methods to reduce particulate matter, NOx, smoke, HC and CO emissions. Approaches considered include engine modifications, fuel changes and exhaust after treatment methods. It is here where oxygenated diesel blends come into the picture as it is found that the use of these blends reduce the emissions considerably without affecting the efficiency of the engine used. Oxygenated diesel blends provide an effective way to reduce emissions from diesel engines, particularly smoke. Smoke or particulate matter emissions are mainly due to the lack of oxygen during the combustion process. (1, 2, 8) In addition to that a slight increase of bsfc is observed due to the slight decrease of fuel heating value with the increase of the oxygen content Brake thermal efficiency increased when the oxygen content was increased. (4)When taking into consideration the production potential of bio-diesel brake specific fuel consumption and NOx emissions the ratio of the biodiesel in the bio-diesel-diesel fuel blend should be kept at low ratio. (3) Relative to diesel fuel, SFC for blended fuel did not increase significantly at higher engine speeds. Diesel fuel contains no oxygen in its molecular structure. (5, 6) The only oxygen available for combustion is from the air taken during the suction process. Since oxygenated