Chandrika et al. 2022. Int. J.

Vehicle Structures & Systems, 14(4), 429-432

Int ernat i onal Journal of
ISSN: 0975-3060 (Print), 0975-3540 (Online)
doi: 10.4273/ijvss.14.4.04 Vehicle Structures & Systems
Available online at www.maftree.org/eja
© 2022. MechAero Foundation for Technical Research & Education Excellence

Investigation of CI Engine Performance and Emission Characteristics of

Biodiesel Blend with Aluminium Oxide
K.K. Naga Chandrikaa,c, K. Karthikeyana, Velmuruganb, K.R. Sureshkumara and S. Thiagarajana
aDept.of Mech. Engg., Easwari Engg. College, Ramapuram, Chennai, India
bDept.of Production Engg., Sri Sairam Engg. College, Tambaram, Chennai, India
cCorresponding Author, Email: thiagarajan.s@eec.srmrmp.edu.in

ABSTRACT:
Due to the rapid depletion of fossil fuels and the need of regulating environmental pollution caused by growing exhaust
emissions, a viable alternative fuel for use in diesel engines is desperately required. Blend of biodiesel B20 with
Aluminium Oxide (Nanoparticles) was tested to improve efficiency and reduce emissions. When compared to ordinary
diesel, there was a significant improvement in engine performance. The brake thermal efficiency, specific fuel
consumption, volumetric efficiency, peak cylinder pressure, smoke, CO, HC, NO and exhaust gas temperatures were
analysed. With the blends, the engine produced less smoke, CO and HC emissions. According to the engine test results,
biodiesel blend with Aluminium Oxide can also be used as fuel to replace diesel without requiring any engine
modifications.

KEYWORDS:
Alumina; Oxygenates; Pongamia B20; Jatropha; Fuel additive

CITATION:
K.K.N. Chandrika, K. Karthikeyan, Velmurugan, K.R. Sureshkumar and S. Thiagarajan. 2022. Investigation of CI
engine performance and emission characteristics of biodiesel blend with Aluminium Oxide, Int. J. Vehicle Structures &
Systems, 14(4), 429-432. doi:10.4273/ijvss.14.4.04.

Ethanol can be used as a gasoline replacement in

1. Introduction gasoline engines and can be mixed with gasoline in any
percent. Most existing automotive petrol engines can run
Because fossil fuels take millions of years to develop
on up to 15% bioethanol blends with petroleum/gasoline.
and reserves are exhausted much faster than new ones
Karabektas et al [1] investigated the performance and
are created, they are non-renewable resources. Hence,
exhaust emission parameters of a diesel engine using
we must conserve these resources and use them wisely.
preheated Cottonseed Oil Methyl Ester (COME) as the
Fossil fuel production and its vast use causes
biofuel. They concluded that the use of preheated COME
environmental concerns. As a result, a global movement
generally produced a significant decrease in CO
towards the development of renewable energy is
emissions. NOx emissions are increased as a result of
underway to satisfy the rising energy demands. Fossil
increased combustion temperatures caused by preheating
fuel combustion emits around 21.3 billion tonnes of
and COME's oxygen content. Agarwal et al [2] found
carbon dioxide (CO2) every year, but natural processes
that engine efficiency improved slightly while using
can only absorb around half of that, resulting in a net
preheated fuel. Karanja oil and its blends were found to
increase of 10.65 billion tonnes of CO 2 in the
have better performance and emission characteristics
atmosphere per year. Fuels are a source of energy and
comparable to mineral diesel [7]. Finally, they concluded
carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases that
that Karanja oil blends with diesel up to 50% without
increases radiative forcing and contributes to global
preheating and up to 50% with preheating is used to run
warming, causing the average surface temperature of the
the CI engine, leading to lower emissions and improved
earth to rise in response, which the vast majority of
performance [8]. At all loading conditions and for all
climate scientists agree will have major negative effects.
blending ratios, the rate of pressure rise is found to vary
A biofuel is exploited in modern biological processes
between 6.5% and 8% [3]. The variations in peak
such as agriculture and anaerobic digestion, rather than
pressure under the part-load situation were almost
geological processes such as those that produce fossil
identical for all blends.
fuels like coal and petroleum from prehistoric biological
Because of the increased evaporation heat of the fuel
matter. Agricultural, commercial, home and industrial
mixes, the RHR is highest at a higher blend ratio
trash can all be used to make biofuels. Ethanol is the
(AOME 15%). The oxygen content in AOME aids in the
most frequently used worldwide, particularly in Brazil.
progress of the premixed combustion phase, resulting in
Alcohols are prepared by the fermentation process of
better combustion. For larger blend ratios, the increase in
sugars from wheat, corn, sugar beets, sugar cane and
the cylinder pressure is about 10 to l5 bar, the maximum
molasses. Enzyme digestion, fermentation, distillation
rate of pressure rise is between 2% and 4% and the rate
and drying are used in the ethanol production.

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 Chandrika et al. 2022. Int. J. Vehicle Structures & Systems, 14(4), 429-432

of heat release is between 5% and 8%. The ignition
delay increases as the Cetane number of the fuel rises
and the peak pressure inside the cylinder rises as well.
When compared to the base diesel, the BTE and BSFC
for AOME 15% show an improvement. With a slight
increase in NOx, the HC, CO, smoke and particle
emission decrease.
Pine oil is more effective in terms of thermal
efficiency and specific fuel usage than diesel. At low and
heavy load circumstances, the BTE of pine oil increases
by 10% and 5% respectively [4]. When compared to
diesel, the maximum heat release rate of the engine at
maximum power output was found to be 27% more.
Meanwhile, as compared to diesel, the maximum in-
cylinder pressure for pine oil is increased by 9%.
Exhaust emissions such as HC, CO and smoke have been
reduced to a significantly lower level than diesel, with
CO, HC and smoke emissions decreased by 65%, 30%
and 70% at full load, accordingly [10]. Pine oil, on the
other hand, releases 25% more NOx than diesel at full
load. For a constant-speed diesel engine, an increase in
thermal efficiency was achieved at the expense of
increased NOx without any modifications to the fuel
injection. Balajee et al [5] concluded that Pongamia and
Jatropha biodiesel can be used as an alternative for
diesel, based on their experimental investigation on a CI
engine fuelled with the same [6, 9]. Many other
researchers suggested that biodiesels derived from
cooking oil, soybean and Mahua oil ethyl ester, can be
used as a suitable replacement for diesel [11].
2. Experimental setup and procedure
The setup consists of a single-cylinder, four-stroke diesel
engine. An eddy current type dynamometer is connected
to the engine for loading. Instruments for detecting
combustion pressure and crank angle are included in the
setup. Airflow, fuel flow, heat and load measurement
can be interfaced by using this capability. The setup
includes an individual panel box that contains the air
box, fuel tank and other components. Rotameters are
provided for measuring cooling water and calorimeter
water flows. The setup enables researchers to evaluate
VCR engine performance of brake power, indicated
power (IP), frictional power (FP), brake mean effective
pressure (BMEP), indicated mean effective pressure
(IMEP), brake thermal efficiency (BTE), indicated
thermal efficiency (ITE), mechanical efficiency (ME),
volumetric efficiency (VE), specific fuel consumption
(SFC), air-fuel ratio (A/F ratio) and heat balance. The
engine specifications used for this experiment are listed
in Table 1. Using 100% diesel, JAT B20 (20% of
jatropha and 80% of diesel), PUN B20 (20% of
pongamia and 80% of diesel), JAT B20+N (20% of
jatropha and 80% of diesel with 100ppm aluminium
oxide) and PUN B20+N (20% of pongamia and 80% of
diesel with100ppm aluminium oxide) blends of biodiesel
in the variable compression ratio (CR 17.5) CI engine at
l500 rpm. The performance evaluation of the engine is
carried out at 0 kg, 5 kg, 10 kg, 15 kg and 20 kg loads.
Table 1: Kirloskar single-cylinder 4-stroke engine specifications
Parameter Specification
Stroke 110mm, bore dia. 87.5mm,
Engine
661cc, CR17.5
Piezo sensor 5000 psi, with low noise cable
Resolution 1º, speed 5500 rpm with
Crank angle sensor
TDC pulse
Temperature sensor RTD, PT 100 and thermocouple, type K
Load sensor Load cell range 0-50 kg
Engine cooling 40-400 LPH; calorimeter
Rotameter
25-250 LPH
Inlet valve timings IVO 4.5° BTDC, IVC 35.5° ATDC
Exhaust valve
EVO 35.5° BBDC, EVC 4.5° ATDC
timings
Hemispherical Combustion Chamber (HCC) and
Toroidal Combustion chamber (TCC) were used. For
both the combustion chamber geometries, the bowl
volume was kept the same to maintain a constant
compression ratio. The squish observed is small in the
case of HCC, whereas TCC produces a more powerful
squish. This accounts for the better utilization of oxygen
in TCC. To begin, the engine was run with no load and
the speed was adjusted to 1500 rpm. The engine was
tested at no load, then tested at 4kg, 8kg and 12kg loads
once it had warmed up. For the eddy current
dynamometer to be fully loaded (100%), it must be
loaded with a 12 kg load for certain arm lengths. The
engine was driven for at least 3 minutes for each load
condition before collecting experimental data for both
fuel types. The processes were redone 3 times.
Performance tests were carried out with a 17.5
compression ratio, a 210 bar injection pressure and a
rated speed of 1500 rpm for both fuels. The emission
values were recorded three times and an average of the
recorded values was used for evaluation. The engine's
performance was evaluated at various loads and
conditions in terms of BSFC, BTE and emissions of CO,
CO2, HBHC and NOx with exhaust gas opacity and
temperature. Table 2 lists the fuel properties for the
standard diesel, produced blends of biodiesels and the
standards for biodiesel.

Table 2: Fuel properties of standard Diesel and Biodiesel blends

Biodiesel standards
Properties Diesel JAT B20 PUN B20 JAT B20+N PUN B20+N
ASTM D6751-02 DIN EN 14214
Calorific value (kJ/kg) 43000 41579 44998 42374 44124 40920 42000
Kinematic viscosity (mm2/s) 3.382 4.106 4.234 5.062 4.756 1.9-6.0 1.91-4.1
Flash point (°C) 68 85.2 90.1 102.4 103.2 80-170 52-96
Fire point (°C) 88.2 115.2 122.5 123.4 112.5 >100C >80C
Density (kg/m3) 0.841 0.864 0.868 0.865 0.865 0.875 0.86-0.90
Specific gravity 0.84 0.8488 0.8468 0.8576 0.8676 0.88 0.85
Cetane number 45 47.78 46.6 48.63 48 41 51

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3. Results and discussions

Fig. 1 depicts the comparison of load vs. BTE. Pongamia
B20 has higher brake thermal efficiency when compared
with all other biodiesel blends. Fig. 2 shows with the
comparison of load vs. SFC. From that, it is observed
that pongamia B20 + 100ppm Al2O3 has a constant
lesser fuel consumption when compared with all other
biodiesel blends. Fig. 3 to 6 represents the ITE, ME, VE
and overall efficiency respectively obtained for various
biodiesel blends at various loads. Pongamia B20+N has
Fig. 4: Load vs. Mechanical efficiency
the highest ITE, ME and VE as compared to diesel and
also all other biodiesel blends especially at the load
ranging from 12kg to 14kg. It is also observed that the
pongamia B20 blend has the highest efficiency at an
initial stage. Figs. 7 to 11 represent the emission
characteristics between the applied load and the CO2,
NOx, Opacity, CO and UBHC respectively. Pongamia
B20 has lesser CO2 emission when compared to other
biodiesel blends. Diesel has less NOx emission than any
other biodiesel blends. Pongamia B20 blend has lesser
opacity and least CO emission when compared to other
biodiesel blends. Pongamia B20 has a notable UBHC
emission when compared with all the other biodiesel Fig. 5: Load vs. Volumetric efficiency
blends experimented in this study.

Fig. 1: Load vs. BTE Fig. 6: Load vs. Overall efficiency

Fig. 2: Load vs. SFC Fig. 7: Carbon dioxide emission

Fig. 3: Load vs. ITE Fig. 8: Nitrogen oxide emission

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Fig. 9: Opacity emission
Fig. 10: Carbon monoxide emission
Fig. 11: Hydro carbon emission
4. Conclusion
Aluminium oxide nanoparticles have been used as a
catalyst in the production of biodiesels such as jatropha
and pongamia. Based on the findings, we conclude that
incorporating aluminium nanoparticles into the biodiesel
preparation helped to reduce emission (NOx, HC and
CO) characteristics. Pongamia B20's performance
characteristics were efficient and also pongamia B20+N
has the higher overall efficiency as compared to diesel.
From the emission analysis, it is observed that pongamia
B20 has lesser emissions when compared to other
biodiesel blends.
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