Abstract
This research focuses on the stability and physicochemical properties of Molybdenum Trioxide (MoO3) nanoparticles in Gossypium arboretum biodiesel at 20% volumetric proportion (BD). MoO3 nano additives were mixed with BD20 at 60, 80 and 100 ppm concentrations with and without surfactant Cetyltrimethylammonium Bromide (CTAB) at 1:1 concentration. The stability of nano-fuels was checked on three different days – day 1, day 10 and day 20 with a spectrophotometer that analyses the absorbance and transmittance of the samples. Compared to base nano fuels CTAB mixed nano samples showed good stability and improved crucial fuel properties. The fuel BDMoO3CTAB80 (BD20 + MoO3 80 ppm + CTAB 80 ppm) discerned higher absorbance of 4.3 AU and lower transmittance of 88.3%. BDMoO3CTAB80 recorded a higher value of cetane number of 64 and a heating value of 41,238 kJ/kg. Physicochemical properties such as Kinematic Viscosity and Relative Density recorded lower values of 4.23 cSt and 880 kg/m3.
Highlights
Examining the stability of MoO3 nanoparticles in G. arboretum biodiesel blends.
G. arboretum biodiesel is produced by transesterification and nano fuel preparation was done by bath and probe sonication
Fuel properties such as viscosity is reduced and cetane number was improved.
BD20MoO380CTAB80 blend is the recommended nanofuel for using in compression ignition engines.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).