Comparison of Performance and Emission Parameters of a Diesel Engine Fueled with Biodiesel and Wood Pyrolysis Oil Emulsions

Abstract

Woody biomass is largely available and can be converted into useful energy through direct combustion, pyrolysis and gasification. Wood pyrolysis oil (WPO) has a poor miscibility with diesel fuel. WPO also exhibits carbon deposit, valve sticking etc when WPO is used in the form of emulsion with ignition improver in compression ignition engines. Preliminary investigations revealed that WPO can be emulsified with biodiesel to some extent. This paper describes the comparative study of the performance and emission characteristics of a single cylinder, 4-stroke, air cooled, direct injection diesel engine fueled with two different emulsions made from (i) methyl ester of karanja (KME) and (ii) methyl ester of jatropha (JME) with WPO. The surfactant used to get the emulsion was Span20 at 2% by volume. The percentages of WPO in the emulsion were 10 and 15% by volume. The emulsions prepared with KME-WPO and JME-WPO are denoted as KOE10, KOE15, JOE10 and JOE15 respectively. The results were compared with diesel fuel operation and presented in this paper.