An experimental study of Pongamia pinnata L. oil as a diesel substitute

Abstract

Present work deals with testing a performance of a compression ignition (CI) engine with different blends of non-edible oil as well as their methylesters with petrodiesel. Various blends of a non-edible vegetable oil, commonly known as honge ( Pongamia pinnata L.) in India, were prepared and tested over a wide range of engine load. Results obtained from the study showed that 15–20 per cent pongamia methylester-diesel blend (B15 and B20) could be a better fuel in terms of fuel efficiency and power developed. Further, the blend can be used in any existing CI engine without modification and preheating. The pongamia oil is transesterified by using base catalysed transesterification process in a batch type transesterification reactor. Transesterification shows improvement in fuel properties of pongamia oil. Results obtained with B15 and B20 show improvement in brake thermal efficiency and reduction in brake specific fuel consumption, especially at higher load. Emission results show significant reduction in percentage of CO and HC for B15 and B20 at medium and higher power output.