| Due to the ever-reducing conventional petroleum resources, considerable research on biodiesel as a possible "greener" substitute fuel for internal combustion engines is needed. Thus, the objective of this study was to compare the engine performance and emission results of various blends of diesel and multifeedstock (MFS) biodiesel when used in a naturally aspirated air-cooled, single-cylinder direct injection Lister-Petter ADI diesel engine. The engine was coupled to a dynamometer for torque measurement and output data sent to a PC for post-processing and displayed using customized programs in the computer. Engine combustion products; Nitrogen Oxide emissions (NOx), Hydrocarbons (HCs), Carbon monoxide (CO), Carbon dioxide (CO2), were measured and presented alongside performance properties including brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC), engine efficiency, torque and power. The experimental results showed that, relative to diesel, biodiesel had approximately 3-24% decrease in torque, 4-11% decrease in power, 11-32% increase in BSFC and 8-29% general reduction in engine efficiency. However, biodiesel significantly reduced the emissions of CO (1.5-6%), CO2 (13-34%) and unburned HCs (3-25%), while NOx emissions were increased significantly (12-48%). These results indicated that smaller percentages of biodiesel (20% or less) could be blended with pure diesel and used in a diesel engine, without any engine modifications, as an alternative and environmentally friendly fuel and without significantly compromising engine performance. |
