Study on the engine characteristics (CI) of using pumpkin-maize-blended biodiesel mixed with additive (diethyl ether)

Abstract

This paper focused on the engine characteristics of a diesel engine fuelled using ternary blends. Initially, pumpkin and maize biodiesel were mixed in a volume ratio of 50:50. With a constant 0.5% diethyl ether (DEE) content, the binary combination of pumpkin and maize biodiesel was mixed with diesel at proportions of 10:90, 20:80, 30:70, 40:60, and 50:50 by volume. The prepared ternary mixtures were evaluated at varying engine loads to improve engine performance. Compared to diesel, the tested ternary blends had a reduced brake thermal efficiency (BTE). However, up to a 30% blending ratio, the BTE demonstrated by ternary blends was within the range of less than 0.5% concerning diesel fuel. The ternary blends' BSFC declined as the binary biodiesel mix increased. Diesel has a brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) of 1.4%, 2.2%, and 3.4% lower than the ternary blends of 10%, 20%, and 30%. The decrease in the heat release rate of the ternary mixes meant that emitted less CO and NOx than diesel. In contrast, ternary blends exhibited an increasing trend in smoke and HC emissions because of the rise in incomplete combustion that occurs as biodiesel content rises. Therefore, with appropriate engine modifications, the pumpkin and maize binary biodiesel blend can replace diesel by up to 30%. KEY WORDS: Biodiesels, Binary blend, DEE, Ternary blend, Efficiency Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2024, 38(4), 1145-1161. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v38i4.26