Operating Performance of a Tractor Working With Different Ratios of Castor Bean and Jatropha Biodiesel

Abstract

There is a growing global quest for clean energy. One of the alternatives is the use of agroenergy, which is the use of vegetable and animal raw material for the production of biofuels. Among them, biodiesel stands out for its renewable and biodegradable nature. The objective of this study was to evaluate the operating performance and smoke opacity of an agricultural tractor fed with different types and ratios of castor bean and Jatropha biodiesels. The study was conducted at Fazenda Experimental CEUNES / UFES, Campus São Mateus - ES. The mixture ratios of biodiesel/diesel used were: B0 (0/100%), B5 (5% 95%), B15 (15%/85% diesel), B25 (25%/75%), B50 (50%/50%), B75 (75%/25%), and B100 (100%/0%). The results showed an increase of 20.0% and 14.8% in the specifc consumption comparing B0 to B100 of castor and Jatropha, respectively. The smoke opacity reduced 24.50% and 54.05% when working with castor and Jatropha biodiesel, respectively. The smoke opacity of the castor B100 is 65.68% higher when compared to Jatropha B100.

Operational Performance of an Agricultural Tractor as a Function of Mixture Proportions and Type of Biodiesel

“…A maximum difference of 14% was found in the values of volumetric fuel consumption between S50 and B100 diesel, with the diesel being more efficient. These results are similar to those found by Simon et al (2018), who evaluated the performance of an agricultural tractor and observed an increase in volumetric fuel consumption of 14.8% when comparing the biodiesel B100 with B0, and B0 was more efficient. Pinto et al (2021) studied the volumetric fuel consumption in a VALTRA BM100 turbo tractor by comparing B0 and B100 and observed an increase of 10.7% when biodiesel was used.…”