Exhaust Emissions Characterization of a Single Cylinder Diesel Engine Fueled with Biodiesel-Ethanol-Diesel Blends

摘要

Due to exponential growth in industrialization, the demand for conventional automotive fuels increases sharply which adversely affects not only the economy but the environment. This necessitates the quest for an alternative fuel. In this research, the blends of ethanol and biodiesel with diesel in varying proportions were carried out to access the emission levels of the blends. The emission levels of carbon dioxide (CO_(2)), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbon (HC), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), oxides of sulfur (SOx) and exhaust gas temperature were investigated under various operating conditions. The tests were carried out on a horizontal single-cylinder, 4-stroke, air-cooled, 3.68 kW engine. The engine was coupled to a manometer and DG eddy current dynamometer with rated power of 3.68 kW at 2600 rpm and was operated at a constant load of 1000 g. The results showed that BED30 fuel gave the best exhaust emission, and a considerable increase in exhaust temperature of the blends compared to diesel was noticed with the exception of BED30 which appeared to be similar to that of diesel at all speed conditions. The results also indicate that the blends gave less CO when compared to diesel. The minimum and maximum reductions of CO of the blends compared to diesel were 9.5% and 49.1% respectively. The emissions of NOx, SOx and CO_(2) increased with increase in ethanol in the blends. All the findings are in agreement with the results of other researchers.