The potential impact of unsaturation degree of the biodiesels obtained from beverage and food processing biomass streams on the performance, combustion and emission characteristics in a single-cylinder CI engine.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to experimentally investigate the effect of unsaturation of the biodiesels obtained from grapeseed oil, wheat germ oil and coconut oil (reference fuel) for compression ignition (CI) engine application. Fatty acid profile analysis and physio-chemical properties were determined by standard test procedures. Engine testing was carried out in a 5.2-kW single-cylinder CI engine and the combustion, performance and emission characteristics were analysed. The effect of fuel property variation and the combustion reaction kinetics due to unsaturation difference have been discussed. The maximum brake thermal efficiency at full load for diesel was found to be 32.3% followed by 31.3%, 30.2% and 27.4 %, respectively, for coconut biodiesel (CBD), grapeseed biodiesel (GSBD) and wheat germ biodiesel (WGBD). Maximum heat release rate as observed for diesel, CBD, GSBD and WGBD are 63.2J/°CA 60.7J/°CA and 59J/°CA and 43.4J/°CA respectively. The brake-specific NO emission at full load is higher for CBD followed by GSBD, WGBD and diesel having values of 9.23g/kWh, 8.91g/kWh, 8.21g/kWh and 7.6g/kWh respectively. Conversely, the smoke emission is lower for CBD compared to the other tested fuels.