Waste transformer oil as an alternative fuel for diesel engine

The current study investigates the suitability for using waste transformer oil (WTO) as an alternative fuel for compression ignition (CI) engine. For this purpose different properties of the WTO were determined. The different properties include density, kinematic viscosity, cetane number, calorific value, flash and fire points, fourier transform infra-red (FTIR). The investigation includes two parts. In the first part of the investigation, different properties and engine performance were conducted. In the latter part of the investigation WTO was refined by well know transesterification process and again different fuel properties and engine performance were conducted. In the text, the refined waste transformer oil is designated as RWTO. All fuel properties with WTO and RWTO were compared with those of conventional diesel fuel (DF). All properties were close to those of DF. FTIR results revealed that the WTO is a diesel like hydrocarbon. The engine performance with WTO and RWTO was much better than that of DF. Based on the findings, WTO and RWTO are suggested to be alternative fuels for CI engine. (C) 2013 The authors, Published by Elsevier Ltd.