Experimental Investigation of Effect of Various Diesel-Ethanol Blends on In-Use Multi-Cylinder Engine Performance and Emission

Abstract

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">In India, B7 (a biodiesel mix of 7% by volume in diesel) has been approved for use in diesel engines. Due to the depletion of fossil fuel supplies and tight pollution requirements, alternative diesel fuel has become critical. However, given the properties of diesel, no direct renewable alternative fuel can totally replace diesel. As a result, one of the solutions may be to replace part of the diesel with ethanol. In this inquisition, the impact of various diesel-ethanol blends, counting ED7.7, ED10, ED15 and ED20, were examined on two in-use multi-cylinder engines complying to different emission norms. The two engines under consideration complies with CPCB-I and CPCB-II, which is an Indian legal requirement for stationary Genset engines. For both engines, a 5-mode steady-state test cycle was considered. For each mode, the engine’s performance characteristics, including power, torque, and BSFC, were tested and described. The prime goal of adding this research is to delve into the possibility of running diesel gensets with blended fuels in an in-use diesel engine. Also, the emission causing pollutants such as NOx, CO, HC, Smoke and PM were measured for each individual mode. Almost all of the pollutants were seen to have reduced. The drastic reduction level in PM and smoke levels to the tune of almost 30-40% was found promising. ED7.7 and ED10 blends were found to be promising for reducing the overall emissions without changing the existing engine configuration. This research presents a thorough analysis of each mode and the response of two different vintage engines to the use of a diesel ethanol blends. This paper also discusses the methodical process used to select the best blend out of all the tested blends.</div></div>