Investigation of Performance and Emission Parameters of Diesel Engine with Nanoparticle-Enhanced Microalgae Biodiesel

This research aims to improve Diesel engines’ performance parameters and emission characteristics by investigating using a renewable feedstock (microalgae Biodiesel) as a substitute fuel. Biodiesel was prepared from the transesterification reaction of Azolla pinnata micro-algae oil as it contains a high oil concentration and meets the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) specifications. Alternate renewable feedstock is increasingly being explored to power the Direct Injection engine to achieve optimized operational characteristics. Experimental research on an engine running at a consistent speed (1500 rpm) was used to integrate metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) into a Diesel and Biodiesel fuel mixture. Adding NPs to the engine improved combustion dispersion and chemical reactivity due to the increased surface area compared to their volume. NPs at various concentrations were added to the B20 (80% Diesel + 20% Biodiesel) blend, together with 2% of surfactant (Span80) to produce the test fuels B20T30 (B20 + 30 ppm of TiO2), B20T60 (B20 + 60 ppm of TiO2), and B20T90 (B20 + 90 ppm of TiO2). Results show that (in comparison to B20) a combination of B20T90 gives a 7.4% increment in brake thermal efficiency (BTE), 9.8% decrease in brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), 13.4% decrease in carbon monoxide (CO), 17.03% reduction in unburnt hydrocarbons (UBHC) and 19.1% reduction in smoke opacity, as well as a marginal increment of 3.2% in nitrogen oxide (NOX).