Experimental and theoretical exploration on the utilization of low viscous pinus biofuel influenced by nano additive in a crdi engine

Abstract

An alternate energy source has to be found, to solve the energy crisis and pollution threat created by the diesel engines. This research study is focused on the effective utilization of Pinus biofuel in a diesel engine. After the detailed literature survey, Pinus biofuel was selected as the alternative energy source due to its lower viscosity, and higher calorific value. Lower viscosity eliminates the need for transesterification process and higher calorific value helps to generate heat energy in par with diesel. The performance and emission characteristics of the 100% Pinus biofuel, its blends (25, 50 and 75%) with diesel are tested and are compared with the neat diesel fuel values. It is found that 100% of Pinus biofuel produces the lowest emission. However, it exhibits inferior performance outcomes compared to diesel. Since the physicochemical property of each fuel differs, the operating parameters standardized for diesel fuel might not be the best for other fuels. Hence, the best operating parameter (injection pressure, compression ratio and injection timing) combination for the usage of 100% Pinus biofuel is determined with the help of a design of experiments tool called Response surface methodology RSM At the end of optimization process, a combination of higher compression ratio (18:1), elevated injection pressure (600 bar) and an advanced injection timing (25° bTDC) was found to give improved performance and reduced emission outcomes for Pinus biofuel in the common rail direct injection diesel engine. But these improvements were not sufficient to compete with diesel fuel. This might be due to the inferior cetane index value of the Pinus biofuel.As a measure to improve the cetane value, addition of ignition enhancer additive was considered. In the search to find the optimum additive, Di Tertiary Butyl Peroxide (DTBP) and Di Ethyl Ether (DEE) showed better outcomes. Hence, both the additives are mixed at 2.5, 5, 10 and 15% by volume along with Pinus biofuel and compared against each other to find the best