THE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF PALM KERNEL OIL (PKO) BIODIESEL IN A DIESEL ENGINE
Abstract
The paper discusses the performance and the emission nature of Palm Kernel Oil (PKO) biodiesel and its blends (B10, B20, B50, B100) in a single cylinder compression-ignition diesel engine. The acid-esterification and base-catalyzed transesterification was carried out to produce biodiesel, which was then followed by the characterization of the fuel properties according to the ASTM standards. The engine tests were done at a working rate of 1500 rpm with five load conditions (0- 100 percent) and the levels of the emissions measured by a calibrated multi-gas analyzer. The effect of the blend ratio and load, reliability of measurements, and to obtain predictive models have been determined by statistical techniques with descriptive analysis, ANOVA, and Response Surface Modelling (RSM).The results indicate that PKO biodiesel has fuel characteristics that meet the global standards of biodiesel. The decrease in brake power with higher concentration of biodiesel was due to the low heating value and also due to the high viscosity, but the brake thermal efficiency improvement with moderate blends, with B20 performing well with high loads compared to diesel. Proportion of biodiesel increased the brake specific fuel consumption. The quantity of the carbon monoxide (CO) and unburned hydrocarbons (HC) in the emission ranged dramatically with increase in proportion of biodiesel, whereas carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration was elevated due to further combustion. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) were slightly aggrandized during high loads, and more blends. The best predictive accuracy was found at B20-B30 region of 75-100 percent load that is the most efficient in terms of fuel economy and emissions.Overall, the paper has managed to assert that PKO biodiesel is a viable renewable alternative source of fuel to the diesel fuel that can be utilized in normal engines without modification. B20 is the best in terms of performance/ecological trade-off and higher performance can be compromised with more benefits in terms of emission at reasonable costs in performance.
Full-Text Access Notice
In accordance with the NERD Policy on promoting peer-reviewed publication, public access to the full text of a project, thesis or dissertation is restricted for three years, allowing the author and supervisors sufficient time to pursue peer-reviewed publication.
During this period, researchers with legitimate academic or research purposes may request authorisation directly from the author to enable NERD to release the indexed full texts of the work using the form below.