Biodiesel produced from crambe oil in Brazil-A study of performance and emissions in a diesel cycle engine generator

The ceaseless search for renewable sources of energy puts biodiesel as a great alternative to replace oil-based fuels. This work aimed to assess the specific consumption of fuel, thermal efficiency and emission of exhaust gases when crambe biodiesel and diesel oil are used in a diesel-cycle internal combustion engine-generator, with different levels of resistive loads. A diesel-cycle engine generator was used, with 7.36 kW (10 cv) of power and 5.5 kVA/5.0 kW of nominal power, with monophasic output tension of 120/240 V. The used fuels were crambe biodiesel (B100) and diesel oil (B0). Nominal resistive loads applied ranged between 1.0 kW and 5.0 kW. In order to quantify the emission of gases, fuel quality and emission analyzer were used. Crambe biodiesel's data for specific consumption and efficiency of energetic conversion proved to be statistically equal to those of diesel. With the usage of crambe biodiesel there was a significant reduction in the analyzed exhausted gases. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.