Fuel 115 (2014) 875883

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Fuel
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Effects of soybean biodiesel on a DI diesel engine performance, emission and combustion characteristics
Orkun zener , Levent Yksek, Alp Tekin Ergen, Muammer zkan
_ Yldz Technical University, Mechanical Engineering Department, Internal Combustion Engines Laboratory, Istanbul, Turkey

h i g h l i g h t s
" Soybean biodiesel and B10, B20, B50 blends were tested with a single cylinder diesel engine. " Biodiesel showed signicant decreases at CO and THC emissions while NOx increased. " Biodiesel usage shortened the ignition delay. " Biodiesel could be used without any modication on diesel engine.

a r t i c l e

i n f o

a b s t r a c t
In this study, the combustion, performance and emission characteristics of conventional diesel fuel and biodiesel produced from soybean oil and its blends (B10, B20, B50) were compared. The tests were performed at steady-state conditions in a single-cylinder direct injection diesel engine over the entire rpm range (12003000 rpm). During the tests, the fuel consumption, pollutant emissions, exhaust temperature and in-cylinder pressures were measured. The experimental results, showed that, relative to diesel, biodiesel had a 14% decrease in the torque and an approximately 29% increase in the brake-specic fuel consumption (BSFC) due to the lower heating value (LHV) of the biodiesel. However, biodiesel signicantly reduced carbon monoxide (CO) (2846%) and unburned total hydrocarbons (THCs), while the nitric oxides (NOx) (6.9517.62%) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions increased slightly 1.465.03%. The combustion analyses showed that the addition of biodiesel to conventional diesel fuel decreased the ignition delay and reduced the premixed peak. These results indicated that biodiesel could be used without any engine modications as an alternative and environmentally friendly fuel. 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Article history: Received 26 July 2012 Received in revised form 9 October 2012 Accepted 13 October 2012 Available online 3 December 2012 Keywords: Biodiesel Diesel engines Combustion Emissions

1. Introduction In the 20th century, world energy usage has increased signicantly due to the effect of industrialisation, and this increase in usage has resulted in inadequate petroleum reserves, such as in the 1970s oil crisis [1]. All of these problems have motivated the scientic society to seek new, alternative energy sources that have decreased global warming and pollution effects. At this point, the scarcity of known petroleum reserves and increasing environmental consciousness has made renewable energy sources more attractive [2,3]. Today, diesel engines are part of the axis of world industry, providing high torque, durability and economical fuel usage under a variety of conditions. Diesel engines dominate sectors such as road and train transport, agricultural, military,
Corresponding author. Address: Yldz Technical University, Mechanical Engineering Department, Internal Combustion Engines Laboratory, 34349 Bes iktas , _ Istanbul, Turkey. Tel.: +90 212 383 29 00; fax: +90 212 261 66 59. E-mail address: oozener@yildiz.edu.tr (O. zener).
0016-2361/$ - see front matter 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2012.10.081

construction, mining, maritime, propulsion and stationary electricity production [4]. Conversely, the fuel demand of most diesel engines still has to be met by primitive petroleum products, and because of this, alternative fuel studies are driven by the need for new energy sources and the need to protect the environment [5]. Currently, the use of biodiesel, which is produced from vegetable oils, has received a lot of attention because biodiesel can be used in a diesel engine without major engine modications [6]. Many researchers have concluded that biodiesel has promise as an alternative fuel for diesel engines [7]. Biodiesel is non-toxic, biodegradable and a renewable diesel fuel that can be used alone or in blends with petroleum diesel fuels. Biodiesel has many advantages compared with diesel fuels. Biodiesel has a higher cetane number compared with diesel fuel and contains no aromatics, almost no sulphur and 1012% oxygen by weight [2]. Moreover, because biodiesel is an oxygenated alternative fuel, it is more completely combusted and produces fewer harmful emissions and pollutants. Biodiesel signicantly reduces emissions such as CO2, particulate matter (PM), CO, sulphur oxides (SOx), volatile organic compounds

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(VOCs), and unburned THC. Biodiesel also has enhanced biodegradability, reduced toxicity and improved lubricity compared with conventional diesel fuel. However, biodiesel is portended to increase NOx emissions [8]. On the other hand the use of biodiesel may lead to engine durability problems including injector cocking, lter plugging and piston ring sticking, severing deposits, failure of engine pump, softening of fuel system seals and unusual characteristics of engine wear [9,10]. According to Silitonga [11] and Atabani [12], globally, annual biodiesel production increased from 15 thousand barrel per day in 2000 to 289 thousand barrel per day in 2008, and acceptance of Kyoto protocol and clean development mechanism (CDM) will lead to more biodiesel production around the world and it is anticipated that this policy will lead to a total bio-fuel demand in EU of around 19.5 and 30.3 million tons in 2012 and 2020 respectively. Biodiesel production is expanding rapidly around the world, driven by energy security and other environmental concerns. Biodiesel is most commonly made from soybean oil in Europe using methanol, which has to meet EN 14214 standard [1]. A lot of valuable research has been conducted on soybean biodiesel and other types of biodiesels and their blends with conventional diesel fuel. Canakci [1] studied No. 2 Diesel fuel, a 20% soybean biodiesel +80% No. 2 Diesel blend (B20) and pure soybean biodiesel B100 in a compression ignition (CI) engine. They found that biodiesel provided a signicant reduction in the PM, CO and THC. Conversely, they found that NOx emissions increased by 11.2%, which is in agreement with most of the literature. They saw a 13.8% increase in BSFC due to biodiesels lower heating value. Considering the combustion characteristics, they determined that the start of combustion for B20 and B100 is earlier than in No. 2 diesel fuel, and they found ignition delays that were shorter than the No. 2 diesel when using B20 and B100 blends. Lin et al. [13] studied petroleum diesel and eight types of vegetable oil methyl esters (including the soybean methyl ester) in a CI engine. In the tests using soybean methyl esters (SMEs), BSFC increased, engine performance decreased slightly (0.01%) and smoke emissions were reduced, which was attributed to the uniform airfuel mixing and oxygen enhancement due to using a vegetable oil methyl ester. NOx emissions were increased due to the increased combustion pressure and temperature; THC emissions were reduced due to lower carbon hydrogen content of the vegetable oil methylester, superior airfuel mixing due to a stronger spray penetration, oxygen content and improved combustion. Song et al. [14] studied the effects of palm-olein biodiesel and its 20% blend on engine system responses, such as the start of combustion, the injection pressure and the exhaust gas recirculation. These authors also studied the NOx and PM emissions of medium-duty diesel engines. Rounce et al. [15] tested ultra low-sulphur diesel (ULS) and rapeseed methyl ester (RME) biodiesel for their combustion and emissions properties with and without treatment (diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) and diesel particulate lter (DPF)) on a CI engine. They found that the RME combustion produces low THC, CO and PM emissions, but its use increased NOx emissions Gill et al. [16] studied an oxygenated component (diglyme) and biodiesel (RME) fuel blend compared with a conventional fuel. They found that RME blending provided a reduction in the CO, THC and soot while CO2 was changed slightly. Conversely, they found that NOx emissions increased by the resulting higher heat release rate due to oxygen availability of RME and they also found the indicated specic fuel consumption (ISFC) was increased with RME blending due to lower heating value of RME. Gumus et al. [17] studied, from the perspective of emissions and engine performance, the effect of injection pressure when a direct injection (DI) diesel engine was fuelled with biodiesel and blends. They found that, the NOx, CO2 and O2 emissions was increased while the smoke opacity, CO, THC emissions was decreased due to improved combustion compared to conventional

diesel fuel (CDF). The BSFC was decreased with the increasing injection pressure for biodiesel blends while the lowest BSFC values were obtained with CDF. They showed that, increased injection pressure decreased the smoke opacity, THC, CO and increased CO2, O2 and NOx. Ylmaz [18] studied the effects of preheating the intake air when the engine was fuelled with a biodiesel and methanol blends, and they compared the results with standard diesel and biodiesel alone. They found that NOx emissions was increased by increased intake air temperature and decreased methanol concentration. While the CO and THC was decreased with preheated air, they increased with methanol addition at part load conditions. For full load conditions, biodieselmethanol blends decreased CO and THC compared to neat biodiesel and 5% and 10% blends, while 15% methanol blending increased these emissions. McCarthy et al. [19] studied the performance and emissions of an internal combustion engine that was fuelled with 80% tallow (beef, pork and sheep) and 20% canola oil methyl ester (Type A) and 70% chicken tallow and 30% waste cooking oil methyl ester (Type B). They used ISO 8178 test procedure for testing the engine. They found that the performance of both biodiesel fuel was decreased and the fuel consumption was increased due to lower energy content of biodiesel blends. Conversely to most of the literature they found the NOx emissions was increased for Type A biodiesel while they decreased for Type B biodiesel which is harmonious with the most of the literature. They attributed to this effect the procedure used for testing, engine type and fuel type. On the other hand they found CO emission was decreased, CO2 and THC emission was increased for both biodiesel blends. Randazzo et al. [20] studied the fuel consumption and the cold start characteristics of a production vehicle fuelled with soybean biodiesel and its blends with hydrous ethanol. They found the use of fuel blend up to 20% biodiesel in CDF blend did not resulted in signicant variation in BSFC compared to CDF. No cold start difculties were observed up to 20% biodiesel in CDF at temperature of 5 C. Buyukkaya [21] studied the effects of rapeseed oil alone as well as its blends on a six-cylinder engine. He found that biodiesel produced lower smoke opacity up to 60% and higher BSFC up to 11% compared to CDF also the CO emissions were decreased when fuelling with biodiesel. Zhu et al. [22] studied the combustion, the engine performance and the emissions of a diesel engine operating with ethanolbiodiesel blends, and they compared the results with biodiesel alone and Euro V diesel fuel. They found biodiesel produced lower CO, THC and PM emissions, hand higher NO2 and NOx emissions. Compared to pure biodiesel, 5% ethanol addition (BE5) to biodiesel gave slightly lower CO and HC emissions in all test modes while 10% (BE10) and 15% (BE15) addition resulted with higher CO and HC. Compared to Euro V diesel fuel, biodiesel produced lower particulate and higher NOx, while BE blends give lower particulate emissions as well as lower NOx emissions. A great deal of valuable research can be found in the literature [2331] dealing with different types of biodiesels as well. In this study, the performance (brake power, brake torque, BSFC), emissions (CO, CO2, NOx, THC) and combustion characteristics of a diesel engine were investigated in engines with the same type of injection system and fuelled with pure diesel (D2), pure soybean biodiesel (B100) and their B10, B20, B50 blends.

2. Materials and methods 2.1. Test fuels EN 590 diesel fuel and soybean biodiesel were the test fuels. B10, B20, B50 and B100 descriptions represent the volumetric biodiesel quantity in the test fuel and D2 represents pure diesel fuel. The physical and chemical properties of the fuels tested are

O. zener et al. / Fuel 115 (2014) 875883 Table 1 Physiochemical properties of the conventional diesel tested. Specication Units Test method EN 590 limit min. Typical formula Average molecular weight Lower heating value Specic gravity at 15 C Flash point Water content Sulphur content Copper strip corrosion (3 h, 50 C) Cetane index Viscosity 40 C Carbon residue (on 10% distillation residue) Ash content Total contamination Oxidation stability Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons g/kmol kJ/kg kg/m3 C mg/kg mg/kg Rating Calc. mm2/s % (m/m) % (m/m) mg/kg g/m3 % (m/m) max. Test results

877

EN EN EN EN EN EN EN EN EN EN EN EN

ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO

3675, EN ISO 12185 2719 12937 8754 2160 4264 3104 10370 6245 12662 12205 12196

820 55 46 2.0

860 200 7000 1 4.5 0.30 0.01 24 25 11

C14.16H25.21 195.5 42.930 838 64 83 2117 1A 53.8 2317 0.12 0.0063 8 14 7

Table 2 Physiochemical properties of the soybean biodiesel tested. Specication Unit Test method EN 14214 limits min. Typical formula Average molecular weight Lower heating value Ester content Specic gravity at 15 C Viscosity at 40 C Flash point Cold lter plugging point Sulphur content Carbon residue Cetane index Sulphated ash content Water content Total contamination Copper strip corrosion Oxidation stability at 110 C Acid value Iodine number Linolenic acid methyl ester Polyunsaturated methylester (P4 double bonds) Methanol content Free glycerine Monoglyceride content Diglyceride content Triglyceride content Total glycerine Phosphorus content Alkaline metals I (Na + Ka) Metals II (Ca + Mg) g/kmol kJ/kg % (m/m) kg/m3 mm2/s C C mg/kg % (m/m) % (m/m) mg/kg mg/kg Corr. degree Hours mg KOH/g g lodine/100 g % (m/m) % (m/m) % (m/m) % (m/m) % (m/m) % (m/m) % (m/m) % (m/m) mg/kg mg/kg mg/kg max. C18.74H34.51 O2 291.2 37.400 96.9 883.4 4512 123 18 1.3 0.15 54,1 0003 357 17 1 7.1 0.36 115 8.2 0.0 0.11 0.01 0.5 0.12 0.04 0.16 <0.5 3.7 <0.5 Results

EN 14103 EN ISO 12185 EN ISO 3104 EN ISO 3679 EN 116 EN ISO 20884 EN ISO 10370 EN ISO 5165 ISO 3987 EN ISO 12937 EN 12662 EN ISO 2160 EN 14112 EN 14104 EN 14111 EN 14103 EN 14103 EN 14110 EN 14111 EN 14105 EN 14105 EN 14105 EN 14105 EN 14107 EN 14108 EN 14109 EN 14538

96,5 8.0 3,5 120 51 1 6

900 5 +5 C (summer) 15 C (winter) 10 0.3 0.02 500 24 1 0.5 120 12 1 0.2 0.02 0.8 0.2 0.2 0.25 10 5 5

_ % (m/m): % (mass/mass). The analysis of soybean biodiesel was performed by The Scientic and Technological Research Council of Turkey Laboratories (TUBITAK).

presented in Tables 1 and 2. Because the physicochemical properties of biodiesel differ from those of conventional petroleum-diesel fuel, there would be an effect on the engine performance and emissions without any modication to the engine. The heating value of the biodiesel is 12% lower than the conventional diesel fuel, which means that for the same engine performance compensation the engine will consume more fuel. The soybean-derived biodiesel contains 10% oxygen by weight, which can play an important role in the combustion behaviour. The viscosity of the tested diesel fuel is nearly two times greater than that of conventional diesel fuel. Viscosity, which can be dened as a uids resistance to ow, is one of the most important factors affecting the in-cylinder fuel atomisation process in direct injection engines [32]. Research on biodiesel fuel performed by Yuan and Hansen [33] demonstrated

that a higher viscosity of the biodiesel could increase the fuel penetration in the chamber, which could affect the combustion and the emissions from the engine. The increased spray tip penetration and decreased spray cone angle seen with the use of biodiesel was veried by Senda et al. [34], using in-cylinder measurement techniques. Conversely, it was shown by Lee et al. [23] that biodiesel blends (B20, B40) and conventional diesel fuel have similar spray tip penetrations. This effect was explained to be due to the fact that, while the injection velocity of biodiesel blends decreases as a result of the increased viscosity of the biodiesel due to the increased friction between biodiesel and the nozzle surface, this effect was compensated for by the increased Sauter mean diameter (SMD) of the biodiesel as a result of its higher surface tension and viscosity, which affects the spray atomisation. Additionally, a

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higher viscosity of the fuel can cause poor fuel atomisation across the spray, which increases engine deposits, requires more energy to pump the fuel and increases wear on the fuel pump elements and injectors [33]. The ash point of biodiesel is higher than conventional diesel fuel, which meets the EN 14214 standard. The ash point is the point at which the mixture becomes ignitable when exposed to a spark or ame and can be related to the composition of the biodiesel, such as the amount of unconverted tri-acylglycerides or the low content of mono-alkyl esters [8]. Although the ash point does not directly affect the combustion, it makes biodiesel safer to store and transport [2]. The cetane index is the basic property of diesel fuels that demonstrates the ignition performance of the fuel. As seen in Tables 1 and 2, the cetane index of the soybean-derived biodiesel is greater than the conventional diesel fuel. This parameter is inuenced by the structural features of the fatty acid alkyl esters, such as the chain length, degree of unsaturation and branching of the chain. It should be emphasised that a greater cetane index indicates better combustion and improvements in the engine efciency [8]. The total amount of sulphur is lower for soybean-derived biodiesel and meets the standards. This specication is the one major advantage of bio-derived fuel from the environmental and engine durability perspective. 2.2. Test bed conguration & test procedure A Lombardini 3LD450 single cylinder, four stoke, naturally aspirated, air-cooled diesel engine with the bowl in the combustion chamber is used as the test engine. The specications of the test engine are listed in Table 3. The test engine is coupled with DC dynamometer-resistance equipment, which can be controlled externally. The injection system consists of a pump-line nozzle fuel injection system, and no modication was made to the injection system during the tests. The performance and operating parameters, such as the engine speed, exhaust temperature, inlet air temperature, air ow, torque output, fuel consumption and cylinder pressure were measured. The test engine uses a Bosch high-pressure mechanical fuel pump-line-nozzle system. A 0.1 crank angle (CA) resolution IVO Baumer GI 355 encoder is mounted on the engine shaft to monitor the engine speed, engine crank shaft position and the top dead centre (TDC) pickup. A Kistler-type 6052B aircooled pressure transducer was installed in the engine, and a 5011B charge amplier was connected to the transducer for in-cylinder pressure monitoring. The cylinder gas pressure was collected for 50 consecutive engine cycles with a resolution of 0.1 CA and then averaged. A VZ 0.04 AL-S Sika positive displacement ow meter with a turbine mount was used for measuring the fuel consumption. The engine air consumption during the operation was measured using a Bosch hot air-mass meter type HFM 2 sensor. The exhaust temperature, fuel temperature, intake air temperature, and the ambient temperature were measured using a National Instrument (NI) 9213 module. The ambient humidity was
Table 3 Test engine specications. Manufacturer Model Type Number of cylinders Combustion chamber Aspiration Bore (mm) Stroke (mm) Displacement (cm3) Compression ratio Max. power (kW) Max. torque (Nm) Injection conguration Lombardini 3 LD 450 4 stroke, air-cooled diesel 1 Direct injection Natural 85 80 454 17.5:1 8.1 kW@3000 rpm (DIN 6270) 28 Nm@18002000 rpm Mechanical pump with single injection

measured using a Greisinger GMH 3350. An AVL DiCom 4000 Emission Analyser was used to analyse the gaseous emissions (CO, CO2 were percent-by-volume based, and HC, NOx were measured in ppm) and the combustion excess air ratio. The signals from the measuring equipment were connected to data acquisition cards for data acquisition and logging. The fuel consumption meter, dynamometer load cell, humidity meter and the AVL Dicom 4000 were connected to NI USB 6215; the in-cylinder pressure signal was connected to a NI 9223 module. All of these data acquisition cards were connected to a personal computer (PC) via the LabView program using a custom acquisition module that was written for these tests. The engine was allowed to warm up before the experiments were conducted to ensure parameters were being analysed at steady-state. After the conditions of the engine stabilised, the data was recorded. The schematic gure of the experimental set up is given in Fig. 1. During the tests, the rack position of the engine was maintained at its maximum position, and the load was increased from a low to a high value by controlling the dynamometer and resistances. For each engine speed, the dynamometer braking was controlled with a pre-developed control program that obtained the same speed points for each test group. 3. Results and discussion 3.1. Engine performance A comparison of the torque and the BSFC values with their trend lines is shown in Fig. 2a and b. As seen in the gure, when fuelling with biodiesel, the BSFC values increased and the torque values decreased slightly, which is in agreement with the literature [8,13,35,36]. The BSFC increased with an increase in the biodiesel blend ratio, and the torque decreased slightly with an increase in the biodiesel blend ratio. The maximum brake torque was 24.89 Nm with diesel fuel and 24.5 Nm with the B10 blend, 24.4 Nm with the B20 blend, 24.14 with the B50 blend and 23.7 with the B100 blend. Compared with the brake torques when using conventional diesel, the average brake torques with the B100, B50, B20, and B10 blends fuel over the entire speed range under full load decreased by 4.7%, 3%, 1.97%, and 1.57%, respectively. Conversely, the average BSFC values over the entire rpm band for the B100, B50, B20 and B10 blends were 9%, 7%, 4%, 2% greater than the BSFC values when using diesel fuel. The inuence of the biodiesel on the engine performance depends on the relationship between the fuel injection system and the fuel properties, oxygenation nature of the biodiesel, the higher viscosity and the lower caloric value as well, and these effects have a major inuence on the spray formation and combustion [1,36]. Therefore, the BSFC and torque results can be more precisely explained by the lower energy content of the biodiesel, which is 12% lower than conventional diesel fuel (Tables 1 and 2). It should be noted that the BSFC is the actual mass of the consumed fuel to produce 1 kW, so, in the case of using biodiesel, a greater amount of fuel is consumed to produce 1 kW, which causes an increase in the BSFC [8,37]. Conversely, for the same volume, due to the greater density of the biodiesel, more biodiesel fuel by mass was injected into the combustion chamber compared with the amount of diesel injected. Therefore, despite the fact that the energy content is 12% lower for the biodiesel, the maximum torque decreased by 45%, which was compensated for by injecting more fuel (by mass). 3.2. CO, CO2 and THC emissions CO is the result of the incomplete combustion of the fuel and is readily produced from petroleum fuels, which contain no oxygen in their molecular structure. Generally, CO emissions are affected

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879

Fig. 1. Schematic layout of test bench.

Fig. 2. (a) Torque values for the diesel, biodiesel and blends with trend lines, (b) BSFC values for the diesel, biodiesel and blends with trend lines.

by the airfuel equivalence ratio, fuel type, combustion chamber design, atomisation rate, start of injection timing, injection pressure, engine load and speed [17,38]. Considering the CO emissions, as seen in Fig. 3a, the usage of biodiesel and its blend instead of No. 2 Diesel fuel resulted in a 28%, 31%, 38% and 46% average decrease when fuelling with the B10, B20, B50 and B100, respectively. The results for the CO emissions are consistent with most of the literature [3941]. This also indicates an improvement in the combustion efciency due to the inclusion of oxygen in the biodiesel structure [16]. Considering CO emissions from internal combustion engines, these emissions are primarily determined by the fuel/air equivalence ratio; as the inlet mixture becomes richer than stoichiometric, the CO emissions rapidly increase [38]. From the perspective of oxygen availability in the biodiesel, this helps form lean combustion in the cylinder compared with conventional diesel combustion. As the biodiesel content increases, the air excess ratio

of the combustion increases with the blend ratio. Therefore, due to the above mentioned reasons, the availability of oxygen in biodiesel may allow more carbon molecules to oxidise compared with the diesel fuel under steady-state engine operating conditions. The THC emission results are shown in Fig. 3b. The THC emissions were reduced 20%, 23%, 31%, and 44% for the B10, B20, B50, B100 blends, respectively, over the entire rpm band. As was the case for the reduction in the CO emissions, a possible explanation for the reduction in the THC emissions when fuelling with biodiesel and its blends is that oxygen molecules are available in the biodiesel compared with the diesel fuel, and the carbon and hydrogen content of the biodiesel is lower when compared with the diesel fuel. These factors may trigger an improved and more complete combustion process, which helps reduce HC emissions [7,13,42,43]. The other signicant emissions from diesel engines are the CO2 emissions, which can contribute to serious public

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Fig. 3. (a) CO emission values for the diesel, biodiesel and blends with trend lines, (b) HC emission values for the diesel, biodiesel and blends with trend lines, (c) CO2 emission values for the diesel, biodiesel and blends with trend lines, (d) NOx values for the diesel, biodiesel and blends with trend lines.

Fig. 4. Measured smoke values for the diesel, biodiesel and blends with trend lines.

Fig. 5. Measured exhaust temperature values for the diesel, biodiesel and blends with trend lines.

health problems and play a major role in ozone formation [37]. The CO2 emission test results are shown in Fig. 3c, along with their trend lines. Fuelling the engine with the B100 blend increased the CO2 emissions by 5.63%, fuelling with the B50 blend increased the CO2 emissions by 2.77%, and fuelling with the B10 and B20 blend did not have a signicant effect (1% increase for both blends) and can be accepted as identical. Similar results were observed by Canakci [1] when they tested soybean biodiesel with a

blend ratio of B20. Additionally, the exhaust temperatures of the tests are shown in Fig. 5. The exhaust temperatures for the B10, B20, B50 and B100 blends are 1.46%, 2.92%, 3.02% and 5.03% lower compared with the conventional diesel fuel. The lower exhaust temperature is an indicator of earlier combustion and a lower heating value of the biodiesel fuel; thus, the earlier combustion allows more time and crank angle for the expansion process [44]. Therefore, a possible explanation of

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881

Fig. 6. (a) Measured In-cylinder pressures for the diesel fuel and blends. @2000 rpm-Max. torque (b) calculated heat release rates for the diesel fuel and blends. @2000 rpmMax. torque.

the increase in the CO2 emissions when fuelling with the biodiesel blends is that when fuelling with biodiesel there is more time for converting the formed CO to CO2. The exhaust temperatures are shown in Fig. 5 for the entire rpm band. As seen in the gure, an increase in the biodiesel blend ratio resulted in a decrease in the exhaust temperature, and these results are in agreement with the effects mentioned above. 3.3. NOx and soot emissions It is accepted that the NOx formation from atmospheric nitrogen is highly dependent on the temperature, which is due to high activation energy needed for the reactions involved [36], and these reactions are determined by the equivalence ratio, oxygen concentration and combustion temperature as well [38]. The physical and chemical properties, such as viscosity, density, bulk modulus and cetane number, affect the injection and combustion behaviour of the fuel [45]. As seen in Fig. 3d, the average NOx emissions over the entire rpm band increased 6.95%, 10.66%, 12.43% and 17.62% for the B10, B20, B50 and B100 blends, respectively, compared with fuelling with the conventional diesel fuel. These results are in agreement with most of the biodiesel literature [1,42,46]. Researchers have proposed that the oxygen content of biodiesel is an important factor in NOx formation because it causes increased local temperatures due to excess hydrocarbon oxidation, and when the oxygen levels increase, the maximum temperature during combustion increases, and the NOx formation also increases [37,47,48]. Therefore, one possible explanation for the increase in the production of NOx is the oxygen content of biodiesel. It has also been proposed that certain mechanical injection systems suffer from an unexpected advance in the fuel injection timing caused by the higher bulk modulus, compressibility, viscosity and density in the fuel blends containing biodiesel, and this can result in a faster transfer of pressure waves from the injection pump to the nozzle thereby advancing the needle lift. This phenomenon can be interpreted as extending the combustion timing and causing a complete combustion reaction when using the biodiesel, which could be a result of a higher combustion temperature that triggers NOx formation [36,37]. The results of smoke opacity were given in Fig. 4 for different engine speeds. The formation of smoke primarily results from the incomplete burning of the hydrocarbon fuel and the partially reacted carbon content in the liquid fuel. As it was given in Fig. 4, the smoke opacity decreased with the increase biodiesel percentage. The reduction of smoke opacity with increase of biodiesel in the fuel blend can be attributed to the decrease in the carbon

content, and the increase of oxygen content, in the blended fuel [17]. The average soot emissions over the entire rpm band increased 19.53%, 26.35%, 45.52% and 64.16% for the B10, B20, B50 and B100 blends, respectively, compared with fuelling with the conventional diesel fuel. 3.4. Combustion characteristics The combustion process of a direct injection (DI) diesel engine can be divided into two phases. The rst phase is the premixed phase and begins after the start of injection, and in this phase, the fuel mixes with air and forms fuel-rich combustible areas during the ignition delay period. Upon ignition, the premixed mixtures react rapidly. When the oxygen in these areas is exhausted, the combustion changes to a diffusion mode (the second phase), which is governed by the mixing of the fuel and the air. The premixed phase is much shorter than the diffusion phase [49]. A comparison of the combustion characteristics of the diesel fuel blends and the pure biodiesel has resulted in the same characteristics as a normal diesel combustion. The premixed and diffusion phases can be seen from the heat release rate (HRR) diagrams in Fig. 6b for 2000 rpm (at the max torque). The heat release rate was calculated using a technique similar to that described by Krieger and Borman [1,50]. Additionally, the in-cylinder pressures for both fuels are given in Fig. 6a for 2000 rpm. The maximum combustion pressure did not show any signicant change when changing the fuels. However, the maximum pressure is achieved when fuelling with conventional diesel fuel. One of the most important parameters in the combustion phenomenon is the ignition delay, which is the time between the start of injection (SOI) and the start of combustion (SOC). The increase in fuel viscosity, particularly for the petroleum-derived fuels, results in poor atomisation, slower mixing, increased penetration and reduced cone angle. These phenomena result in a longer ignition delay. However, biodiesel is not derived from crude petroleum, and the opposite trend is seen in the case of biodiesel and their blends [51]. The ignition quality of a fuel is usually characterised by its cetane number, and a higher cetane number generally results in a shorter ignition delay. Conversely, the chemical and physical processes that occur during the ignition delay period tend to be endothermic. This causes the combustion model to indicate a negative heat release during the ignition delay, which rapidly becomes positive when the auto ignition occurs [52]. This effect can be seen in the HRR graphic in Fig. 6b. The cetane numbers of the tested fuels are shown in Tables 1 and 2. Fig. 6b shows that all of the biodiesel/diesel blends and the pure biodiesel had shorter ignition delays when compared

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