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This work investigates the experimental study to examine the operation characteristics of a neat neem oil methyl ester (BD100) along with silver oxide nano-particles as a metal-based additive in various mass fractions. Silver oxide nano-particle is mixed into 100% of BD100 at 5 and 10 ppm. The experimental investigation on diesel engine reveals that the addition of silver oxide nano-particles to BD100 resulted in enhancement of brake thermal efficiency (BTE) with a reduction in brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC). The tested emission parameters such as CO, HC, NOx, and smoke were decreased by 12.22, 10.89, 4.24, and 6.61% for BD100+ AgO (5 ppm) and 16.47, 14.21, 6.66, and 8.34% for BD100 respectively when compared to BD100. Overall, improvement in ignition characteristics of the engine was finer by adding 5 and 10 ppm of silver oxide nano-particle to BD100 on account of the enhanced surface area to volume ratio.

In this work, palm oil biodiesel (POBD100) with a cyclo-octanol additive was employed in a constant speed diesel engine, and its effects on engine combustion, emission, and performance were studied. The biodiesel produced from palm oil by the conventional transesterification process, sodium hydroxide, and methanol were involved in the conversion of oil into biodiesel. The five fuels evaluated were neat palm oil biodiesel (POBD100), octanol blended with palm oil biodiesel by 10% volume (POBD90O10), octanol blended with palm oil biodiesel by 20% volume (POBD80O20), octanol blended with palm oil biodiesel by 30% volume (POBD70O30), and petroleum diesel. The experimental results revealed that with the increased octanol fraction, the combustion was smooth. All the octanol and biodiesel blends provide earlier combustion when compared to neat palm oil biodiesel which leads to higher thermal efficiency, lower fuel consumption, lower peak pressure, and shorter ignition delay. All the emissions are reduced by the addition of cyclo-octanol in palm oil biodiesel in all loads owing to the higher oxygen concentration of air/fuel mixtures and improved atomization. Based on the outcome of this study, palm oil biodiesel and cyclo-octanol blends can be employed as a potential alternative fuel for existing unmodified diesel engines owing to its improved combustion, emission, and performance characteristics.

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In this work, a solar flat-plate collector integrated with four riser tubes having 0.5 m2 area is designed and fabricated. Experiments were conducted using three working nanofluids, namely, alumina, copper oxide, and zirconium oxide, along with the base working fluid water of different weight fractions. The efficiency of collector and storage tank is calculated using the ASHRAE method, and the obtained results were compared. The experimental result shows that alumina nanofluid influences the collector efficiency nearly about 17% for the collector and 13.5% for the storage tank compared to the base working fluid water. The efficiency of the solar collector by appending 0.4% Al2O3, CuO, ZrO2, and water is found to be 55, 51.3, 47, and 38%, respectively. Experimental results raveled that the addition of nanoparticles to water as heat transfer fluid enhances the heat transfer, thereby increasing the efficiency of the collector.

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