Experimental investigation to reduce emissions of CI (compression ignition) engine fuelled with methyl ester of cottonseed oil using antioxidant

Biodiesel offers cleaner combustion over conventional diesel fuel, including reduced particulate matter, carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbon (HC) emissions. However, several studies point to increase in NOx emissions (about 13%) for biodiesel fuel compared with conventional diesel fuel. In this paper, the experimental investigation on the effect of antioxidant additive (L-ascorbic acid) on NOx emissions in a methyl ester of cottonseed oil-(MECSO) fuelled direct injection diesel engine has been reported. The antioxidant additive is mixed in various proportions (100-400 mg) with MECSO and was tested in computerised four-stroke water-cooled single-cylinder diesel engine of 3.5kW rated power. Results show that the antioxidant additive is effective in controlling the NOx and HC emissions of MECSO-fuelled diesel engines.