Effect of di ethyl ether on the performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine using biodiesel–eucalyptus oil blends

Abstract

The present work is to study the performance, emission and combustion characteristics of a single cylinder direct injection diesel engine using pongamia biodiesel (PB) and eucalyptus oil (Eu) along with the addition of a constant amount (10%) of diethyl ether as an additive (DEE). They are blended with different proportions on a constant volume basis such as B20E70, B30E60, B40E50 and B50E40 and tested at various loads (0, 3, 6, 9 and 12). The performance parameters such as Brake Specific Energy Consumption (BSEC), Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC), Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTE), Exhaust Gas Temperature (EGT) and exhaust emissions parameters such as Nitrogen Oxides (NO_x), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Unburned Hydrocarbons (HC) and smoke and combustion parameters like cylinder pressure and heat release rate were measured. The brake thermal efficiency for B20Eu70DEE10 is found to be very close to neat diesel and there is a significant reduction in BSEC, BSFC and EGT is observed at full load conditions. Further, the major emissions such as HC, CO and smoke emission for B20Eu70DEE10 are 30%, 10% and 35.7% lower than that of diesel at full load conditions respectively. Performance parameters also show satisfactory results. Thus it can be said that B20Eu70DEE10 showed better results on the performance, emission and combustion characteristics without any modification on the engine.