IDI Engine With Alternate Fuels

Background

Experimental studies were conducted to evaluate the performance, emissions, combustion and heat release rate of an Indirect Diesel Injection (IDI) engine with comprehensive engine cylinder vibration proof to substantiate better combustion. The summery of all endeavors yield good evidence that various biodiesel applications either blending with diesel or mixing any additive proved better than the implementation of diesel fuel in a neat form. In the present study, the experimental investigation by K Prasada Rao and B V Appa Rao (2017) used neat Mahua methyl ester (MME) along with Methanol additive blends. Since the auto ignition temperature of methanol is 470⁰C, it may not be initiator to combustion in the pre combustion chamber but, a part of the biodiesel in the blend may be set to combustion. The authors K Prasada Rao and B V Appa Rao (2017) in the experimental proposal chose to take 1% to 5% methanol blends and finally concluded that 3% methanol blend yielded better results. The author’s conception is that the higher latent heat methanol reduces the combustion temperature and there by reduces NO component in the exhaust gas. Normally methanol increases the CO formation. But it is an incidental observation that CO also reduced by 20% at the maximum load, indicates that the presence of methanol increased the air fuel entrainment the evaporation mode at low lower evaporation temperature in both the chambers leading to near totality of the combustion. In another endeavor, by Y Ashok Kumar Reddy (2013) it is not crude oil but the heated Jatropha methyl ester (JME) was tested to verify the results and it yielded better results over the unheated biodiesel or the petroleum-based diesel. The author has observed that the viscosity of biodiesel can be decreased by heating the oil to a level close on parity with the diesel oil’s viscosity at 60⁰C and above this temperature the oil became critical indicating no more further reduction in the viscosity. Thermal efficiency of the engine is under greater control with 60⁰C heated JME and it has shown betterment at higher operating loads of the engine. At other higher input oil temperatures, the heat losses may be reason for lesser thermal efficiency values comparatively. Predictably, the exergy is better and the irreversibility is contained with preheating of the oil to 60⁰C.