Performance and Emissions Characteristics of Biofuel Blend In a CI Engine

Abstract

Chemical modifications of vegetable oils are made by catalyzed esterification with short chain alcohols, here methyl alcohol. In this study, methyl ester produced from sunflower oil, called as biofuel throughout the study, was blended with diesel fuel, 25% biofuel and 75% commercial diesel fuel, called here as biofuel blend; and used as a fuel in a direct injection diesel engine. The tested parameters were the engine power, torque, specific fuel consumption and exhaust gas emissions. The effects of using blend biofuel and diesel fuel in a direct injection diesel engine were compared to a baseline diesel fuel. The results have showed that performance of CI engine was good with the use of biofuel blend especially in comparison to diesel fuel, and exhaust emissions were reduced when using biofuel blend.

Keywords: Biofuel blend; Diesel engine; Performance; Exhaust emissions; Diesel fuel