Effect of Shorea robusta methyl ester biodiesel blends on the exergy and sustainability analysis of diesel engine

In this experimental investigation, the impact of engine load, compression ratio, and percentage blends of biofuel on exergy, energy, and sustainability parameters for the samples of diesel based (10-40% v/v) biodiesel blends were performed on variable compression ratio engine. The brake thermal efficiency, exergy efficiency, engine sustainability, exergy destruction rate, and other exergy parameters were found to escalate with the escalating engine load, compression ratio, and percentage of Shorea robusta methyl ester biodiesel fuel blends. The exergy and energy efficiency of the engine with diesel fuel were 2.05%, 6.98%, and 10.63%, respectively higher than 10%, 30%, and 40% Shorea robusta methyl ester fuel and 2.23%, 8.67%, and 9.22%, respectively at 50% engine load and 1500 rpm engine speed. The influence of compression ratio, engine load, and fuel blends on the exergetic performance parameters revealed a similar trend with energetic parameters, but the magnitude of exergy parameters was found lower than the energetic parameters. The application of Shorea robusta methyl ester biodiesel blends improved the combustion characteristics with a small drop in energy and exergy performance parameters and sustainability of the engine. The exergy destruction rate and entropy generation rate for shorea robusta methyl ester biodiesel blend were found lower than the conventional fuel. Therefore, the fuel blend have a high potential to be an alternate to the conventional fuel without any design modification of diesel engines.

Automated summary

The experimental investigation showed that the engine efficiency and sustainability parameters improved with increasing engine load, compression ratio, and percentage of biodiesel fuel blends. The application of Shorea robusta methyl ester biodiesel blends enhanced combustion characteristics and sustainability of the engine, indicating potential as an alternative to conventional fuel without engine design modifications.