Performance and Emission Characteristics of CRDI Engine Fuelled with Cotton Seed Oil Blended Biodiesel

Abstract

The biofuel produced from cottonseed oil can provide a potential solution to the rapid rate of depletion and hazardous emissions of the fossil fuels for the fast-growing world. The present work investigates the suitability of cotton seed oil as a blending agent for production of biodiesel. The biodiesel blend has been tested as an alternate fuel in a common rail direct injection diesel engine from performance and emission point of view. The performance and emission parameters of biodiesel containing 10, 20 and 30 % of cotton seed oil have been compared with those of pure diesel. The experimental results indicated that the biodiesel containing 20% of cottonseed oil exhibited the most optimal performance and emission characteristics. The brake thermal efficiency of the engine decreased by 2.3% while the brake specific fuel consumption increased by 0.047kg/kWh for optimally concentrated biodiesel. Corresponding to same combustion parameters, the hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions reduced by 16.5 and 58 % respectively while the nitrogen oxide emissions increased by approximately 4.8%. Thus, the cotton seed oil can be considered as a potential alternate to pure diesel considering performance and emission characteristics.