A comparative evaluation of compression ignition engine performance using preheated jatropha, karanja, and neem oils

Abstract

A steep rise worldwide in petroleum products and increased consumption have made the search for renewable sources, such as vegetable oils, biodiesels, alcohols from molasses/sugarcane, and so on, inevitable. In an agricultural economy-based country, there are lots of possibilities in the rural sector for improving the proper and efficient use of energy. Vegetable oils, being renewable, are widely available from a variety of sources and have low sulphur contents, being close to zero, and hence cause less environmental damage (lower greenhouse effect) than diesel. This article presents the results of tests using three non-edible oils, namely jatropha, karanja, and neem, at three different fuel injection temperatures in an unmodified small size compression ignition engine employing exhaust gas recirculation. Results show that oils at preheated temperatures can be a good substitute for conventional diesel fuel with a much smaller decrement in power and thermal efficiency in the case of engines without turbo charging.