Elsevier

Fuel

Volume 307, 1 January 2022, 121784
Fuel

Full Length Article
Experimental and numerical investigation of adding castor methyl ester and alumina nanoparticles on performance and emissions of a diesel engine

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2021.121784Get rights and content

Highlights

  • The characteristics of diesel engine examined with the addition of 20% CME biodiesel to diesel along with three doses of Al2O3 (25, 50, and 100) ppm.

  • Addition of 25 ppm to 20% CME caused a remarkable enhancement in the BTE and reduced BSFC by 16.66%.

  • Highest reduction in HC is 13.25% for 100 ppm then 7.23% and 4.82% in case of 50 ppm and 25 ppm respectively.

  • Nano fuels blends emit lower CO emissions where 25 ppm of AL2O3 gives 30.5% reduction while 27.45% and 21.67% are reported for 50 ppm and 100 ppm respectively.

  • Dose level of 25 ppm AL2O3 had the best concentration of Nano addition since noticeable change doesn't occur beyond (25) ppm for overall parameters under scope.

Abstract

Diesel engine characteristics investigated numerically and experimentally while adding different concentrations of alumina Nano particle to the castor oil biodiesel. Experimental work conducted on single cylinder diesel engine taking into account different conditions of load. The Russian diesel-rk software is used to perform the numerical part. Three doses of Al2O3 are added to 20% CME biodiesel starting from 25 ppm, 50 ppm, and 100 ppm. Numerically it is observed that adding 25 ppm Al2O3 to 20% CME reduced BSFC by 16.66% while it was 14.86% in the experimental results. The hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) are reduced significantly compared to the case of 20%CME biodiesel. The experimental findings showed that with 25 ppm, 50 ppm, and 100 ppm of Al2O3 to biodiesel (20%CME), the opacity of smoke are decreased by 5.2%, 12%, and 17.0%. Maximum reduction in NOX is obtained for 25 ppm Al2O3 where 11% is recorded followed by 4.89% and 4.32% in case of 50 ppm and 100 ppm respectively. Best concentration of Nano addition is 25 ppm since no noticeable change is captured beyond (25) ppm for all parameters under scope. The numerical results are validated with experimental findings as well as with the results of other researchers.

Introduction

Energy consumption is constantly growing, owing to shifts in lifestyle and population growth in the world. The use of fossil fuels to meet this growth in energy demand has resulted in a serious problem of fossil fuel depletion and an increase in fossil fuel prices. Furthermore, the toxic compounds cause the formation of smog, and undesirable climatic changes, their use exacerbates significant environmental impacts such as the increase of greenhouse, ozone depletion layer, deforestation, acidification, photochemical smog, and eutrophication [1]. Hence, an urgent search for alternative energy sources that are economically viable, environmentally sound, and straightforwardly obtainable is needed [2].

Many scientists have focused their efforts on alternative fuels research such as biodiesel and alcohols which are main frequently investigated ones in diesel engines for reducing diesel fuel consumption and pollutant emissions [3]. An significant research topic is the use of biodiesel derived from vegetable oils and animal fats as an effective alternative to petroleum-based diesel fuels.

In this regard, using vegetable oil-based biodiesel, both edible and non-edible, is promising. It's because they can grow food locally and even farm on barren land. The results of using vegetable oils such as coconut, soybean, castor oil, and sunflower oil have been documented by the majority of authors [4].

Renewable energy sources are the best option for meeting the earth's energy demand because of their immense abundance and high potential. The most well-known alternative fuel source for diesel is biodiesel [5]. Moreover, its ability to substitute petroleum derivatives, which are likely to run out within a century, has become significant in recent times. As the former is known to be environmentally friendly, Environmental issues about the emission of exhaust gases have pushed for the use of biodiesel fuel as a substitute for fossil fuels. Biodiesel is a mixture of mono-alkyl esters extracted from vegetable oils [2], and since the carbon is trapped in the exhaust, it is a carbon–neutral fuel that came from the atmosphere. In addition, the use of biodiesel decreases the greenhouse effect by not raising the ambient level of carbon dioxide (CO2) [6]. Biodiesel comprises high oxygen content; however, this oxygen drops the heating values of the created biodiesel. Besides this issue, the utilization of biodiesel fuel in CI engines reduced HC, CO and smoke emissions and yielded a sizable capacity segment of NOx growth [7], [8]. Vegetable oils are widely used as a feedstock in the production of biodiesel. Castor oil is one of them that can be used as a biodiesel feedstock because it needs little energy to process and does not contain any edible oils [9]. Under humid and hot tropical conditions, castor plants can grow satisfactorily without fertilizer [10].

Many studies have focused on fuel formulation methods in recent years in order to boost efficiency and emission characteristics by adding fuel additives to biodiesel. The use of nanoparticles in biodiesel is a recent promising fuel additive that can improve efficiency while lowering emissions [11], [12], [13], [14], [15]. The addition of nanoparticles to the fuel improves thermo-physical properties such as thermal conductivity and a high surface area to volume ratio. Thermal conductivity and a high surface area to volume ratio are examples of thermo physical properties, are enhanced by the addition of nanoparticles to the fuel. Nano-additives have been documented to enhance the fire point, flash point and kinematic viscosity along with biodiesel, diesel and their mixtures [16]. Nanotechnology is the science of dealing with problems that are one billionth of a meter in size and the study of molecular and atomic scale manipulation of matter. S. From Horikoshi, and N. A nanoparticle was described by Serpone [17] as the “most fundamental component in the production of a nanostructure”. It is much smaller than the universe of ordinary objects described by the laws of motion of Newton, but larger than an atom or a simple molecule governed by quantum mechanics. Recently, several studies have examined the impacts of various oxygenated additions on biofuels to improve the characteristics of IC engines. Using the addition of metallic oxides nanoparticles to fuel blends can improve engine output and combustion characteristics [18], [19]. The ability to donate oxygen atoms to the fuel and to produce a high surface-to-volume ratio are two advantages of using metal-oxide nanoparticles as a fuel additive. They function through combustion as a high reactive medium. Furthermore, adding nanoparticles increases the temperature of the fire point, flash point, and thermal conductivity thus lowering the kinematic viscosity [20].

The effect on the efficiency and emissions of a naturally aspirated diesel engine of the addition of Aluminum Oxide Al2O3 nanoparticles with Jatropha Oil Methyl Ester (JOME) has been experimentally investigated by N. Shrivastava et al. [21]. Nanoparticles were used in their experiment to minimize nitrogen formation and elevated temperatures. 50 ppm and 150 ppm are added separately to diesel and JOME, an ultrasonicator was used to shape nanostructures. JOME efficiency is less effective than diesel performance due to the lower heating content. The findings demonstrate that the use of diesel and biodiesel nanoparticles results in an engine operation that is more powerful, eco-friendly and economical.

C. R. Seela, and B. Ravi Sankar [22] investigated the effect of mahua methyl ester mixed with zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle on the characteristics and efficiency of a single cylinder CI engine. By adjusting the Nano concentration and biodiesel by 50 ppm and 100 ppm by ZnO and 20 percent and 50 percent by volume, various diesel, biodiesel and nanoparticles mixtures were prepared. Using ultrasonic induction, which involves nanoparticle dispersion, the fuel was changed. The results showed that the right mixture with the addition of nanoparticles, the B20 with 50 ppm ZnO Nano-added, resulted in better engine performance. With this ratio, thermal efficiency has been improved by up to 3% and all CO2, NOx, and HC emissions have been decreased.

V. D. Raju et al. [23] used mixture of diesel with tamarind seed methyl ester was at concentrations of (10, 20, 30) percent by volume. These ratios were tested in a diesel engine to select the right combination for the addition of nanoparticles,. Nanoparticles are added to best blending ratio (biodiesel) to improve efficiency, combustion and emissions. Comparative study of 60 ppm and 30 ppm of alumina oxide are blended with 20 percent of tamarind seed methyl ester is provided. The results reported 1.6 percent improvement in the thermal and reduction in the hydrocarbons and NOX emissions.

S. Radhakrishnan et al. [24] studied the effect of nanoparticles on the efficiency and emission parameters of cashew nutshell biodiesel (BD100). Through the transesterification process, biodiesel was prepared with the addition of nano-alumina particles named (BD100A). The experimental findings showed that pollution factors such as HC, NOx, CO, and smoke were decreased by 7.4%, 5.3%, 10.23% and 16.1% using BD100, 10.1%, 8.8%, 12.4% and 18.4% using BD100A, compared to pure diesel fuel. In contrast to diesel at full load, BTE decreased by 2.3 percent and 1.1 percent, while BSFC increased by 5.1 percent and 3.8 percent using BD100 and BD100A, respectively.

In order to analyze the characteristics of a diesel engine, the addition of copper oxide nanoparticles to Pongamia biodiesel has been examined by V. Perumal, and M. Ilangkumaran [25]. Experimental findings showed that B20CuO100 mixture lowered BSFC by 1.0% and boosted BTE by 4.01%. Compared to the B20 mixture, CO, smoke, HC, and NOx emissions decreased to around 29 percent, 12.8 percent, 7.9 percent, and 9.8 percent, respectively, considering greenhouse gases.

D. S. Patil [26] conducted experimental tests on a D.I single-cylinder diesel engine. Cerium Oxide nanoparticles were used with cottonseed biodiesel blends at a concentration of 50 ppm, (20CSBCeO250 and 10CSBCeO250). The diesel engine has a compression ratio of 14 to 18 and a load of 0 to 6 kg at 1500 rpm. Findings reported a substantial increase in efficiency and a decline in emissions of NOx. For all efficiency and emission parameters, the 10CSBCeO250 fuel mixture was found to be the highest.

B. Paramashivaiah et al. [27] prepared dispersive graphene with a mixture of diesel and simarouba methyl, nano biodiesel. The UV–Vis spectrometer was used to characterize the dispersion. On one single cylinder D.I., performance characteristics and emissions of nano biodiesel were carried out. For 3 different levels of graphene nanoparticles, fuel properties were calculated. The SME2040 mixture has been found to provide the best overall results. This resulted in an improvement of 9.1 percent in the engine's BTE, a decline of 15.4 percent in UHC, 12.7 percent in NOX and 42.9 percent in CO. In addition, the additive of graphene nanoparticles resulted in a substantial decrease in the combustion time, with a small increase in the pressure of the cylinder.

S. Nayak et al. [28] analyzed the mixture of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with Pongamia biodiesel in the 50 ppm and 25 ppm mass fractions using an ultrasonic system. A major increase in BTE was obtained because of the silver nanoparticle biodiesel additive. The higher dose level of AgNPs improved the efficiency of the engine further. Compared to conventional diesel at different operating loads, the emissions of NOx and HC were higher when using biodiesel.

B. Narayanasamy, and N. Jeyakumar [29] investigated by the use of TiO2 nanoparticles with Azolla algae methyl ester on emissions and performance characteristics of a four-stroke single-cylinder diesel engine. Biodiesel can be obtained from Azolla algae due to the high percentage of oil that exists. Using the transesterification process, the oil collected was converted to biodiesel. In comparison with diesel as well as biodiesel, significant decrease in the emissions, including CO and hydrocarbon emissions is obtained.

A research based on nanoparticle as a simple fluid in diesel or biodiesel was proposed by S. Muthusamy et al. [30]. Different blending ratios, such as B20, B20Fe3O450 and B20Fe3O4100, investigated in this study. It was found that addition of nanoparticles of iron oxide (Fe3O4) to biodiesel improved performance and reduced the emissions of diesel engine.

T. R. Krishna, and M. G. Raju [31] examined experimentally the effect of adding Al2O3 to biodiesel, produced from rice bran oil on emission and efficiency of diesel engines. It was found that with maximum load conditions, the BTE is similar to that of diesel. A substantial reduction in the CO, CO2 and NOX emission under all load conditions was observed with additives of B60 and B80. The B60 fuel mixture with 20 ppm of Al2O3 nanoparticles with 5 percent Di-Ethyl Ether is the strongest combination due to performance analysis.

A. I. El-Seesy et al. [32] studied experimentally the effects of adding graphene nano platelets (GNPs) into diesel blended with 20% by volume jatropha methyl ester on the characteristics of a diesel engine under various engine loads and speeds. The GNPs were added at different concentrations of 25, 50, 75, and 100 mg/L of JB20. The results showed that adding GNPs at 50e75 mg/L of JB20 achieved an increase of 25% in the thermal efficiency and a reduction of 20% in the B20 compared to those of pure JB20. The peak cylinder pressure, highest rate of pressure rise, and maximum heat release rate were also increased by 6%, 5%, and 5%, respectively. Furthermore, the engine emissions of NOx, CO, and UHC were reduced by 40%, 60%, and 50%, respectively, at a GNP dosage of 25e50 mg/L.

Most of the studies related to the combustion of biodiesel were of experimental work with limited use for a numerical solution method. Therefore, it is of interest to apply a numerical simulation and compare the results with an experimental data set.

The current study aims to examine experimentally and numerically the role of alumina nanoparticles with different concentrations (25, 50 and 100 ppm) on the characteristics of one cylinder, four stroke diesel engine powered by B20% CME blends.

Section snippets

Materials and methods

Castor oil and all chemicals such as H2SO4 (97%), anhydrous methanol and sodium hydroxide were ordered from a domestic market based on the approved standard chemical resource and used without further refining. Diesel was supplied from petrol station for testing. The experiment was performed in laboratory-scale device. Biodiesel has been prepared through transesterification processes.

In the current research, two methods were used to prepare biodiesel fuel using castor oil. Acid catalyzed

Experimental work

The experimental test rig consists of a diesel engine, eddy current dynamometer as loading system, water cooling system, various sensors and instruments integrated with computerized data acquisition system measurement of load, instantaneous cylinder pressure and position of the crank angle, exhaust emissions and smoke opacity. Actual photo of the engine and its attachments, is shown in Fig. 5 and a schematic representation along with its explanation is shown in Fig. 6. The technical data of the

Numerical analysis

In this study, the multizone combustion model was used, and the governing equations were solved with the simulation solver of Diesel-rk. Further details for the model formulation [36], [37], [38], [39].

Calculation of performance parameters

Noting down the volume of fuel consumed (q) which is equivalent to 10 cc (cc) and the time taken for it. Total fuel consumption (TFC) can be obtained [33];TFC=qtfρf

From Eq. 18, the brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) is obtained:BSFC=(TFC/BP)

The brake specific energy consumption (BSEC) is obtained by multiplying the BSFC with the lower heating value of the fuel.BSEC=BSFC×(1-CME%)QLHVDF+CME%×QLHVCME

Finally, brake thermal efficiency is determined:BTE(%)=3600/(BSFCQLHV)

Validity of model

Samples of the results collected from numerical results are validated with the results of other researchers. The base line diesel fuel is considered for comparison as it's similar for all literature and what's valid for diesel will valid for other fuel blend. Three different research works which conducted by Rajak et al. [41], Prakash et al. [42] and Dassari et al. [43] are chosen for validation. Rajak et al. [41] investigated numerically the effect of different biofuels on the diesel engine

Results repeatability

The experimental results are repeated four times in each test at the same operating conditions one samples is selected 20%CME + 25 ppm AL2O3. The medium value of the repeated tests was adopted in the analysis. Fig. 11 shows the repeatability of exhaust temperature tests. There are some differences among tests for the same conditions. The reason for this is the effective errors, change in surrounding conditions, human error, and error analysis as well. The error deviation with 20% CME + 25 ppm AL

Conclusions

  • 1.

    All studied Nano fuel blends reduced combustion pressure, temperature as well as the peak rate of heat release decreased slightly compared to pure 20%CME without Nano.

  • 2.

    Both experimental and numerical results showed an improvement in the performance characteristics with increasing the percentage of where addition of to 20% CME caused an increase in the BTE by 23.1% and reduced BSFC by 14.86%.

  • 3.

    The use of Nano particles fights the biodiesel NOx effect as 25 ppm of AL2O3 gives highest reduction in

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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