Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Applied Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apenergy
Department of Automotive, Faculty of Technical Education, Firat University, Elazg 23119, Turkey
Department of Automotive, Faculty of Technical Education, Batman University, Batman 72060, Turkey
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history:
Received 9 January 2009
Received in revised form 30 April 2009
Accepted 14 May 2009
Available online 5 June 2009
Keywords:
Diesel engine
Preheating
Rapeseed oil
Engine performance
Emissions
a b s t r a c t
Many studies are still being carried out to nd out surplus information about how vegetable based oils
can efciently be used in compression ignition engines. Raw rapeseed oil (RRO) was used as blended with
diesel fuel (DF) by 50% oil50% diesel fuel in volume (O50) also as blended with diesel fuel by 20% oil80%
diesel fuel in volume (O20). The test fuels were used in a single cylinder, four stroke, naturally aspirated,
direct injection compression ignition engine. The effects of fuel preheating to 100 C on the engine performance and emission characteristics of a CI engine fueled with rapeseed oil diesel blends were claried.
Results showed that preheating of RRO was lowered RROs viscosity and provided smooth fuel ow Heating is necessary for smooth ow and to avoid fuel lter clogging. It can be achieved by heating RRO to
100 C. It can also be concluded that preheating of the fuel have some positive effects on engine performance and emissions when operating with vegetable oil.
2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
In a compression ignition engine, the study of spray injection
and the evaporating characteristics of fuels are important for optimizing fuel injection and combustion processes to improve engine
efciency and achieve lower exhaust emissions with vegetable oilfueled engines.
According to McDonnell et al. [1], the physical properties of a liquid fuel that affect its atomization in a diesel engine are viscosity,
density and surface tension. For a DI diesel injector at xed operating condition, use of fuel with higher viscosity delays atomization.
Poor atomization has negative effects on combustion process.
Fuel type, quality and characteristics have a vital role in meeting current and future standards. Also, a preheating-based engine
control improves the engine performance, and therefore exhausts
emissions when vegetable oil is used in diesel engines.
From previous studies [213], it is evident that various problems are associated with vegetable oils being used as fuel in diesel
engines due to the high viscosity, high density and poor non-volatility, which lead to problems in pumping, atomization and poor
combustion inside the combustion chamber of a diesel engine in
long term.
Therefore, vegetable oils cannot be used directly in diesel engines at room temperature. In order to reduce the viscosity of the
vegetable oils, three effective methods have been found; transesterication, mixing with lighter oil and heating [14].
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +90 424 2370000x4349.
E-mail address: hanbeyhazar@hotmail.com (H. Hazar).
0306-2619/$ - see front matter 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2009.05.021
787
avoid fuel lter clogging. It was also indicated that the injection
system was not affected even by heating to 100 C.
It was also concluded from the results of an experimental investigation [30] that the waste frying oil preheated to 135 C could be
used as a diesel fuel substitute for short-term engine operation.
The purpose of this work is to investigate the effect of preheating of RROdiesel fuel blends on the engine performance and emission characteristics of a CI engine.
35
DF
O20
30
O50
25
RRO
20
15
10
5
0
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Temperature ( o C)
Fig. 1. Effect of temperature on viscosity of RRO, blends and diesel.
Table 2
Some technical specications of the test engine.
Type
Rainbow186 diesel
Injection system
Cylinder number
Stroke volume
Compression ratio
Maximum power
Maximum engine speed
Cooling system
Injection pressure
Mean effective pressure (Mep)
Medium piston speed
Direct injection
1
406 cc
18/1
10 HP
3600 rpm 20
Air cooling
19.6 0.49 MPa (200 5 kgf/cm2)
561.6 kPa
7.0 m/s (at 3000 rpm)
Table 1
Technical properties of DF, RRO, O20 and O50 oildiesel blends.
Fuel
ASTM test no
RRO
DF
O20
O50
D2015
40112
42940
42150
41630
Density (g cm
D1298
0.903
0.843
0.868
0.882
) (15 C)
Viscosity (mm2 s
D93
234
68
86
122
D445
31.23
3.66
8.26
15.64
) (40 C)
788
Fig. 2. Schematics of diesel test engine and setup: (1) engine chassis, (2) exhaust gas analyzer, (3) exhaust gas analyzing probe, (4) single cylinder diesel engine, (5) load cell,
(6) dynamometer, (7) tachometer, (8) control unit, (9) fuel burette and (10) fuel container.
39
37
35
33
31
29
27
25
1000
DF
O20
O50
DF(Pre-heated)
O20(Pre-heated)
O50(Pre-heated)
1500
2000
2500
9
8
7
DF
O20
O50
DF(Pre-heated)
O20(Pre-heated)
O50(Pre-heated)
1300
1100
Bsfc (g/kWh)
10
6
5
4
3
2
1000
observed in all speeds and conditions. The main reasons are that;
The lower heating values of rapeseed oil were compensated with
fairly higher rates of fuel consumption to obtain the same amount
of power, The higher viscosity, which reduces the back ow across
the piston clearance of the injection pump, The higher lubricity of
oil could also reduce friction loss and may lead to an increase in
brake effective power. The comparison of the brake specic fuel
consumption preheated O20, O50 blends and DF is presented in
Fig. 5. When compared with literature, the reason for high Bsfc
can be attributed to test condition since tests were made at wide
open accelerator position and at high load engine run. The preheating process signicantly effected Bsfc for all fuels especially at the
lower running speeds of engine. The highest value of decreased
Bsfc was observed with the use of O50 blend. The average Bsfcs
decreased approximately 9.12%, 8.16% and 9.64% for DF, O20 and
O50, respectively. Several reasons for such decrease in Bsfc can
be presented; the more preheated fuel into the cylinder the more
atomization and pulverization the smaller particles of the fuel to
be injected into the cylinder. This led to more utilization of the fuel
through more complete and in-cylinder combustion. Also, the
brake power of engine increased as the fuel consumption rate decreased leading to decreased Bsfc. The lowest Bsfc was obtained
with the use of preheated diesel fuel. This is due to the combined
effect of lower viscosity and higher caloric value of the DF than
those of RRO-diesel blends.
DF
O20
O50
DF(Pre-heated)
O20(Pre-heated)
O50(Pre-heated)
900
700
500
300
1500
2000
2500
100
1000
1500
2000
2500
789
The fuel consumption rates for the test fuels decreased when
the fuel was preheated, as illustrated in Fig. 6. Some of the reasons
mentioned above for decreased Bsfc can also be responsible for
explaining the decrease in mass fuel consumption with preheating.
With preheating, the mass fuel consumption decreased around
5.14%, 7.25% and 5.18% for diesel, O20 and O50, respectively. However, in all test and conditions, the mass fuel consumption rates for
blends were higher than that of DF. The loss of heating value of
RRO is compensated with higher fuel consumption to maintain
the similar trend of power. Thus, the forementioned increase in
fuel consumption was not caused by any loss in thermal efciency
but rather by the reduced heating value of oil.
The variation of exhaust gas temperature for tests with DF, O20
and O50 fuels in case of preheating are shown in Fig. 7. With preheating of the fuel, the exhaust gas temperatures did not signicantly reduce for all the test fuels. The exhaust gas temperature
for O50 showed a fairly higher trend when compared with O20
and DF, as RRO contains constituents of poor volatility, which burn
only during the late combustion phase. It can be mainly due to delayed combustion.
3.2. Emission results
The highest NOx emission takes place at 2000 rpm unexpectedly
instead of 2500 rpm. It can be attributed to the very short combustion time at 2500 rpm. That is, the time for complete combustion
6
5
DF
O20
O50
DF(Pre-heated)
O20(Pre-heated)
O50(Pre-heated)
180
160
140
NOx (ppm)
4
3
100
80
DF
O20
O50
DF(Pre-heated)
O20(Pre-heated)
O50(Pre-heated)
60
40
2
1
1000
120
20
1500
2000
0
1000
2500
1500
2000
2500
700
600
DF
O20
O50
DF(Pre-heated)
O20(Pre-heated)
O50(Pre-heated)
1.20
1.00
500
CO (%)
800
Fig. 8. The effect of preheating on NOx emissions of RRO blends and DF.
400
300
0.80
0.60
0.40
200
100
1000
DF
O20
O50
DF(Pre-heated)
O20(Pre-heated)
O50(Pre-heated)
1500
2000
Engine speed (rpm)
2500
0.20
1000
1500
2000
2500
790
80
70
60
References
DF
O20
O50
DF(Pre-heated)
O20(Pre-heated)
O50(Pre-heated)
50
40
30
20
1000
1500
2000
2500
4. Conclusions
The power increment for the blends remains lower when compared with that of diesel fuel since the viscosity of the blend reduced with preheating leads to the higher leakages in the pump
and injector resulting lower power outputs. The preheating process
also considerably effects Bsfc for all fuels. The highest value of decreased Bsfc was observed with the use of O50 blend. The mass fuel
consumptions for the test fuels decreases when the fuel is preheated. However, with all test in all conditions, the mass fuel consumption rates for blends are higher than those of DF fuel since the
heating value of the RRO is fairly lower that of diesel. With preheating of the fuel, the exhaust gas temperatures do not signicantly reduce for all the test fuels. The exhaust gas temperature
for O50 is fairly higher when compared with O20 and diesel fuel.
The NOx emission lowers when RRO blends are used. The NOx
emissions are lower both for O20 and O50 fuels than that o diesel
fuel. Nevertheless, the NOx emissions for all test fuels including
diesel fuel increase when fuels are preheated. The CO emission decreased for all test fuels with preheating due to the improvement
in spray characteristics and better airfuel mixing. Smoke density
for all test fuels decreases with preheating. It can be concluded that
preheating test fuel slightly affects engine performance while it
signicantly reduces exhaust emissions when operating with vegetable oil. Besides, the viscosity of the vegetable oil can be reduced
by preheating the fuel in order to solve the problems associated
with high viscosity.
[1] McDonnell KP, Ward SM, McNulty PB, Howard-Hildige R. Results of engine and
vehicle testing of semi-rened rapeseed oil. Trans ASAE 2000;43:130916.
[2] Pryde EH. Vegetable oils as diesel fuels: overview. JAOCS 1983;60:1557.
[3] Murayama T, Oh YT, Miyamoto N, Chilahisa T. Low carbon ower buildup, low
smoke, and efcient diesel operation with vegetable oils by conversion to
monoesters and blending with diesel oil or alcohols. SAE Paper No. 841161;
1984.
[4] Vellguth G. Performance of vegetable oils and their monoesters as fuels for
diesel engines. SAE Paper No. 831358; 1983.
[5] De Almeida SCA, Belchior CR, Nascimento MVG, Vieira LSR, Fleury G.
Performance of a diesel generator fuelled with palm oil. Fuel
2002;81:2097102.
[6] Ziejewski M, Kaufman KR. Laboratory endurance test of a sunower oil blend
in a diesel engine. JAOCS 1983;60:156775.
[7] Graboski MS, McCormick RL. Combustion of fat and vegetable oil derived fuels
in diesel engines. Prog Energy Combust Sci 1998;24:12564.
[8] Labeckas G, Slavinskas S, Ignatavicius T. The research of direct injection diesel
engine performance parameters when operating on pure rapeseed oil, vol. 57.
Research papers of Lithuanian University of Agriculture VAGOS; 2003. p. 117
23.
[9] Labeckas G, Slavinskas S. The analysis of diesel engine performance on pure
rapeseed oil. In: Proceedings of 4th international conference TRANSBALTICA03, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Technika, Vilnius; 2003. p. 4906.
[10] Hazar H. Effects of biodiesel on a low heat loss diesel engine. Renew Energy
2009;34:15337.
[11] Nwafor OMI, Rice G. The use of neat rapeseed oil in diesel engine. In:
Proceedings of the fth international conference on small engines, their fuels
and the environment; 1995. p. 2630.
[12] Ani FN, Lal M, Williams A. The combustion characteristics of palm oil and palm
oil ester. In: Proceedings of the third international conference on small engines
and their fuels for use in rural areas; 1990. p. 5866.
[13] Dunn PD, Jompakdee W. Measurement of the rate of carbon build-up in diesel
engines employing vegetable oil fuels. In: Proceedings of the third
international conference on small engines and their fuels for use in rural
areas; 1990. p. 915.
[14] Murayama T, Fujiwara Y, Noto T. Evaluating waste vegetable oils as a diesel
fuel. Proc Inst Mech Eng: Part D 2000;214:1418.
[15] Demirbas A. Biodiesel production from vegetable oils via catalytic and noncatalytic supercritical methanol transesterication methods. Prog Energy
Combust Sci 2005;31:46687.
[16] Meher LC, Vidya Sagar D, Naik SN. Technical aspects of biodiesel production by
transesterication a review. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 2006;10:48268.
[17] Al-Widyan MI, Tashtoush G, Abu-Quadis M. Utilization of ethyl ester of waste
vegetable oils as fuel in diesel engines. Fuel Process Technol 2002;76:91103.
[18] Cetinkaya M, Ulusoy Y, Tekin Y, Karaosmanoglu F. Engine and winter road test
performances of used cooking oil originated biodiesel. Energy Convers Manage
2005;46:127991.
[19] Canakci M. The potential of restaurant waste lipids as biodiesel feedstocks.
Bioresour Technol 2007;98:18390.
[20] Canakci M, Erdil A, Arcaklioglu E. Performance and exhaust emissions of a
biodiesel engine. Appl Energy 2006;83:594605.
[21] Altin R, etinkaya S, Ycesu HS. The potential of using vegetable oil fuels as
fuel for diesel engines. Energy Convers Manage 2001;42:52938.
[22] Nwafor OMI. Emission characteristics of diesel engine operating on rapeseed
methyl ester. Renew Energy 2004;29:11929.
[23] Labeckas G, Slavinskas S. The research of biofuels usage in diesel engine. In:
Proceedings of international conference TRANSBALTICA-99 published by
Vilnius Gediminas Technical University and Lithuanian Academy of Science.
Vilnius, Technika; 1999. p. 40915 [Lithuanian, abstract in English].
[24] Agarwal AK, Rajamanoharan K. Experimental investigations of performance
and emissions of Karanja oil and its blends in a single cylinder agricultural
diesel engine. Appl Energy 2009;86:10612.
[25] Devan PK, Mahalakshmi NV. A study of the performance, emission and
combustion characteristics of a compression ignition engine using methyl
ester of paradise oileucalyptus oil blends. Appl Energy 2009;86:67580.
[26] Prasad CMV, Krishna MVS, Reddy CP, Mohan KR. Performance evaluation of
non-edible vegetable oils as substitute fuels in low heat rejection diesel
engines. Proc Inst Mech Eng, Part D 2000;214:1818.
[27] Barsic NJ, Hurnke AL. Performance and emission characteristic of a naturally
aspirated diesel engine with vegetable oil fuels. SAE Paper No. 810262; 1981.
[28] Ryan TW, Dodge TG, Callahan TJ. The effect of vegetable oil properties on
injection and combustion characteristics in two different diesel engines. J Am
Oil Chem Soc 1984;61:16109.
[29] Bari S, Lim TH, Yu CW. Effect of preheating raw palm oil on injection system,
performance and emissions of a diesel engine. Renew Energy 2002;77:33951.
[30] Pugazhvadivu M, Jeyachandran K. Investigations on the performance and
exhaust emissions of a diesel engine using preheated waste frying oil as fuel.
Renew Energy 2005;30:2189202.