EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF A DI DIESEL ENGINE USING FUEL DERIVED FROM ORANGE PEEL

Abstract

For more than 70 years, in many countries bio-fuels have played an newlineimportant role as fuel in automobiles as they are renewable, eco-friendly and newlinenon-toxic. They can effectively substitute diesel fuel and help to reduce the newlineimport of petroleum crude. Besides, they can create huge rural employment. newlineOrange skin is a biomass which is found as a waste in our day-today newlinelife. Orange skin powder and orange oil have a considerable heating value newlineand other physical properties that suit them to be good energy sources. The newlinemain focus of the present investigation is to effectively use orange skin newlinepowder diesel solution and orange oil as sources of energy in a compression newlinecompression newlineA single cylinder, four stroke, air cooled, direct injection diesel newlineengine, developing 4.4 kW at a rated speed of 1500 rpm was used in this newlineinvestigation. Tests were carried out to study the combustion, performance newlineand emission characteristics of the diesel engine fueled with orange skin newlinepowder diesel solution and orange oil. The test results were compared with newlinethe diesel fuel baseline readings. newlineIn the first technique, a test fuel was prepared in the form of orange newlineskin powder diesel solution (OSPDS) in different percentages (i.e. 10 %, newline20 % and 30 %). In the second technique, an optimum OSPDS was used as newlinefuel at different nozzle opening pressures, viz., 215 bar, 235 bar and 255 bar. newline newlineIn the third technique, orange oil in different percentages (i.e. 10 % to 100 % newlinein steps of 10 % on a volume basis) was blended with diesel fuel. It was found newlinethat cold starting would be difficult if orange oil is used as a sole fuel in the newlineengine, due to its high initial distillation temperature. In the fourth technique, newlinean attempt was made to use 100 % orange oil in the diesel engine with newlineDiethyl Ether (DEE) as an ignition improver by admitting DEE into the newlineengine at three flow rates viz., 22 mg/s, 36 mg/s and 60 mg/s along with the newlineintake air and orange oil was injected into the cylinder., emissions and combustion newlinecharacteristics of the engine fueled wi