Effects of fossil diesel and biodiesel blends on the performances and emissions of agricultural tractor engines

Abstract

Rapid growth in the energy consumption has conditioned the need for discovering the alternative energy resources which would be adapted to the existing engine constructions and which would satisfy the additional criteria related to the renewability, ecology and reliability of use. Introduction of biodiesel has been the focus of attention over the last ten years. The aim of this research is to investigate the influence of biodiesel on the performances and exhaust gas emissions of medium power agricultural tractor engines (37-66 kW). The reason for the selection of this category is that those types of tractors are most frequently used in agriculture. In this research biodiesel produced from sunflower oil was blended with fossil diesel. Biodiesel, fossil diesel and fossil diesel blends with 15, 25, 50 and 75%v/v biodiesel were tested for their influence on the engine performances and emissions. The testing was performed on a four-cylinder diesel engine with 48 kW rated power. The experimental research on the engine performances was conducted in compliance with OECD test CODE 2, and the exhaust gas emissions were tested according to the ISO 8178-4, C1. The use of biodiesel and fossil diesel blends reduced the engine power with the increase of biodiesel share in the blend. However, the exception was the blend with 15%v/v biodiesel which induced a slight increase in the engine power. Depending on the share of biodiesel in the blend all blends fuels showed increased specific fuel consumption compared to the fossil diesel. Thermal efficiency increased as a result of more complete combustion of biodiesel and fossil diesel blends. The exhaust gas emissions implied that the addition of biodiesel reduced the content of CO2 and CO, as well as the temperature of exhaust gases, but it increased the emission of NOx

Numerical Analysis of Fuel Flow Patterns at the Nozzle Exit Considering Different Fuels and Operating Parameters of a Diesel Engine

“…Also, the air-fuel mixture is more difficult to achieve than in the case with the diesel fuel because stronger turbulence is needed in the combustion chamber to reduce the time of mixture formation; this has which has an immediate effect on the speed and power of the engine [2,4,5].…”

“…The combustion process is directly related to the injection and air-fuel mixing processes. A good and homogeneous fuel jet structure, small fuel particles, the penetration depth of the jet correlated with the geometric shape of the combustion chamber and the spray pattern development are just a few requirements to be met by a high-performance injection system [5]. All of the above requirements directly depend on the physical characteristics of the fuel, the geometric characteristics of the injector, and the operating parameters of the injection system (injection pressure).…”

Effects on Performance, Emission and Combustion Parameters of Addition Biodiesel and Bioethanol Into Diesel Fuel

“…According to Chauhan et al [8], Parekh and Goswami [9], Prasad et al [10], Mofijur et al [11], Huang et al [12], Labeckas and Slavinskas [13], brake thermal efficiency (BTE) values of biodiesel and ethanol decreased due to same cause with that of BSFC. However, Dhar et al [14], Swaminathan and Sarangan [15] and Tomic et al [16] have revealed that addition of low rate biodiesel increased BTE due to reduction of injection pumping losses because of biodiesel increases density and viscosity. Rounce et al [17], Su et al [18], Lesnik et al [19], Rakopoulos et al [20], Lapuerta et al [21] and Anbarasu et al [22] presented both biofuels increased maximum cylinder pressure (MCP) due to boost the combustion speed of oxygen content of biofuels.…”

A comprehensive study on the effect of emulsification, solid nanoadditive and LPG dual fuel operation on engine behaviour of a WCO based compression ignition engine

“…Vegetable oils show most promising alternative fuel for Diesel engine due to their favourable properties very close to diesel fuel [1,2]. Earlier studies have reported significant engine results with different vegetable oils as fuels [3][4][5].…”