Experimental studies on the combustion characteristics and performance of a direct injection engine fueled with biodiesel/diesel blends

Biodiesel is an alternative diesel fuel that can be produced from different kinds of vegetable oils. It is an oxygenated, non-toxic, sulphur-free, biodegradable, and renewable fuel and can be used in diesel engines without significant modification. However, the performance, emissions and combustion characteristics will be different for the same biodiesel used in different types of engine. In this study, the biodiesel produced from soybean crude oil was prepared by a method of alkaline-catalyzed transesterification. The effects of biodiesel addition to diesel fuel on the performance, emissions and combustion characteristics of a naturally aspirated DI compression ignition engine were examined. Biodiesel has different properties from diesel fuel. A minor increase in brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) and decrease in brake thermal efficiency (BTE) for biodiesel and its blends were observed compared with diesel fuel. The significant improvement in reduction of carbon monoxide (CO) and smoke were found for biodiesel and its blends at high engine loads. Hydrocarbon (HC) had no evident variation for all tested fuels. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) were slightly higher for biodiesel and its blends. Biodiesel and its blends exhibited similar combustion stages to diesel fuel. The use of transesterified soybean crude oil can be partially substituted for the diesel fuel at most operating conditions in terms of the performance parameters and emissions without any engine modification. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.