Abstract
As a substitute to petroleum-derived diesel, biodiesel has high potential as a renewable and environment friendly energy source. For petroleum importing countries the choice of feedstock for biodiesel production within the geographical region is a major influential factor. Crude rice bran oil is found to be good and viable feedstock for biodiesel production. A two step esterification is carried out for higher free fatty acid crude rice bran oil. Blends of 10, 20 and 40 % by vol. crude rice bran biodiesel are tested in a variable compression ratio diesel engine at compression ratio 15, 16, 17 and 18. Engine performance and exhaust emission parameters are examined. Cylinder pressure-crank angle variation is also plotted. The increase in compression ratio from 15 to 18 resulted in 18.6 % decrease in brake specific fuel consumption and 14.66 % increase in brake thermal efficiency on an average. Cylinder pressure increases by 15 % when compression ratio is increased. Carbon monoxide emission decreased by 22.27 %, hydrocarbon decreased by 38.4 %, carbon dioxide increased by 17.43 % and oxides of nitrogen as NOx emission increased by 22.76 % on an average when compression ratio is increased from 15 to 18. The blends of crude rice bran biodiesel show better results than diesel with increase in compression ratio.
Highlights
Fossil fuels are the major source of energy worldwide
An acid catalyzed esterification followed by an alkali catalyzed esterification was Results and discussion Engine performance and exhaust emissions test results for blends of 10, 20 and 40 % crude rice bran biodiesel (CB10, CB20, CB40) along with diesel are examined at compression ratio (C.R) 15, 16, 17 and 18
Cylinder pressure increased with increase in compression ratio
Summary
Fossil fuels are the major source of energy worldwide. The cheaper cost of diesel as an automotive fuel compared to gasoline has received increased attention, which further has resulted in the increase of on road mid-size diesel vehicles (Sedan and Hatchback class). Realizing the importance and potential of rice-bran oil in catering to the energy needs and environmental issues of the country, an effort has been made in the present work to investigate the variation in engine performance and exhaust emission characteristics of a 4-stroke diesel engine fuelled with blends of crude rice bran biodiesel by varying compression ratio from 15 to 18.
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