Combined influence of n-butanol and ethyl hexyl nitrate on engine characteristics of the plastic oil-diesel blend fueled CI engine

Waste plastics collected over several years slowly rot in land fills and show a significant threat to the atmosphere. Through catalytic pyrolysis, hydrocarbons contained in the waste plastics may probably be transformed into plastic oil. Recycled waste plastic oil (WPO) used in CI engines provides a suitable remedy for waste plastic management. But inclusion of alcohol in WPO-Diesel blend increases the NOx emission. A four-stroke single-cylinder CI engine was used to conduct emission and performance testing. When compared to Diesel-WPO blend, results indicated that n-butanol mixing emitted lower emissions of HC, CO, smoke and higher NOx emission. The mixture of n-butanol in the fuel blend improved the brake thermal efficiency and decreased specific fuel consumption compared to the blend of WPO-diesel. The inclusion of EHN to the Diesel-WPO-n-butanol ternary blends lowered the emission of NOx up to 24%, but slightly increased the emission of CO up to 6.4%, HC up to 6.6% and smoke up to 8.7%, although the values are still lower than WPO-diesel blends. The usage of EHN in ternary fuel blends increased brake thermal efficiency (BTE) up to 1.6%. Therefore, the inclusion of oxygenated alcohol and cetane improver to WPO-diesel blend is efficient for a engine.

Automated summary

Through catalytic pyrolysis, waste plastics can be transformed into plastic oil, which provides a suitable solution for waste plastic management. However, the inclusion of alcohol in the blend increases NOx emissions. Adding n-butanol to the fuel blend reduces emissions of HC, CO, smoke, and increases NOx emissions. Inclusion of EHN in the ternary blend reduces NOx emissions and improves brake thermal efficiency.