The effect of fusel-biodiesel blends on the emissions and performance of a single cylinder diesel engine

In this experimental study, the effects on engine performance and fuel-induced emission characteristics were studied using various fuel blends such as F10B10 (10% fusel + 10% biodiesel + 80% diesel vol%), F20B10 (20% fusel + 10% biodiesel + 70% diesel vol%), F20B20 (20% fusel + 20% biodiesel + 60% diesel vol%), F30B10 (30% fusel + 10% biodiesel + 60% diesel vol%), and DB100 (100% diesel). The performance characteristics of the engine, exhaust emissions, and combustion were analysed in a single-cylinder 4-stroke compression ignition (CI) engine. This test was performed on four different engine loads (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) at 1800 rpm. Brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC), rate of heat release (ROHR), engine power, energy release rate, and emissions such as carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), and nitrogen oxides (NOx) were examined. The experimental results show that the engine power in the cylinder was slightly lower for all engine loads tested with a blend of inter-fusel-biodiesel-diesel fuels compared to pure diesel. Besides, the BSFC slightly improved by around 12%, especially for F20B20 fuel at all engine loads with an average speed while a 9% ignition delay was found in F10B10 for 25% and 50% load compared to pure diesel fuel. Also, the observed nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions decreased for all engine loads where the highest decrease was found at 100% engine load for F20B20 fuel blend. Also, CO and CO2 emissions were found to increase.