Experimental investigation of a small agricultural diesel engine performance using community biodiesel from wild trees

Abstract

The increasing consumption and demand for fossil fuels have more significance than before alarm above its lessening rate and for that reason, stimulated the actions are needed to challenge the issue with an efficient and less polluting alternative fuel for diesel. This study evaluated the performance of an 8.2 kW small diesel engine using three fuels, namely diesel, waste cooking oil biodiesel and wild tree biodiesel, such as granadilla oil biodiesel (GBD) and tung oil biodiesel (TBD). The experimental engine was tested at 1,500 rpm of constant engine speed and 20–80% of engine load. The specific fuel consumption, brake specific energy consumption, brake mean sufficient pressure, brake thermal efficiency, exhaust emission and temperature were evaluated. It was found that the small diesel engine worked well using wild trees biodiesel. The brake means effective pressures were lower by 5–8% and thermal brake efficiency was decreased in the range of 9–15%, compared with diesel fuel. The exhaust emission was lower than Thailand’s industrial standard and slightly higher than waste cooking oil biodiesel and diesel fuel operation. The operation of biodiesel from wild trees is suitable for farmers and is considered feasible for local communities in the future.