Exploring the potential of ternary fuel blends for enhanced engine efficiency and reduced emissions: application of multi-objective optimization

ABSTRACT

A diesel engine powered with Mesua ferrea Linn oil (20% MLO) and diesel (80%) blend fuel (MLO20) is fortified with diethyl ether (DEE) for possible enhancement of the engine’s performance, combustion, and tailpipe emissions. DEE is added to the MLO20 to create three different kinds of ternary blends. This study investigates the combined effects of biodiesel, ether, fuel injection pressure, and engine load on engine performance, emissions, and combustion characteristics. By considering several parameters at the same time, this investigation offers a fresh perspective that extends beyond the individual parameter analysis used in earlier studies. The first contains 5% DEE and 95% MLO20 by volume (MLO20DEE05), whereas the second has 10% DEE and 90% MLO20 by volume (MLO20DEE10) and the third has 15% DEE denoted as MLO20DEE15. The inclusion of DEE in the MLO-diesel mix improves engine thermal efficiency by 1% to 2.47% while reducing both CO emissions by 7.2% to 12.8% and NOx emissions by 3.7% to 11.9%. This generated a multi-input and multi-output predicament in which it was critical to determine the appropriate fuel blend to achieve the most efficiency while emitting the fewest exhaust emissions. In the current study, the response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the control components to attain the optimal engine response variables. The analysis of variance was employed for model development while desirability was used for optimization. The 75.36% engine load, 238 bar injection pressure, and 14.2% DEE addition provided the best engine output as 24.95% BTE, 59.16 bar peak pressure, 0.39 kg/kWh, 298.4 ppm NO_x, 42.48 ppm UHC, and 0.051% CO emission.

KEYWORDS:

• Biofuel
• combustion
• desirability
• emission
• novel biodiesel
• optimization
• sustainability

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the School of Engineering Sciences, Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University, Delhi, India; Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India and Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, India for providing experimental and numerical platform support in generating data used in this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Prabhakar Sharma: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – original draft; Maryom Dabi: Investigation, Writing – reviewing; Bibhuti B Sahoo: Methodology, Writing – reviewing, and editing.

Additional information

Funding

This research and preparation of the article did not receive any funding sources.

Notes on contributors

Prabhakar Sharma

Prabhakar Sharma is associated with Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University, Delhi, INDIA as an Asst. Professor. He has 13 Years of Academic Experience. He did his PhD in Artificial intelligence based renewable energy system modeling. He has authored several journal papers in International Collaborations and attended international conferences. He has research interest in renewable energy, emission reduction and artificial intelligence. Presently working on AI based research on Intelligent systems, fuel additives, hybrid nanofluids, and biomass gasification.

Maryom Dabi

Dr. Maryom Dabi received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Guwahati, India in 2020. He has more than 17 years of teaching experiences. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology (NERIST), Nirjuli, Arunachal Pradesh, India. His broad areas of research include biofuels and internal combustion engines.

Bibhuti B. Sahoo

Dr. Bibhuti B. Sahoo received his PhD in Energy Engineering from IIT Guwahati, India in 2011. He has more than 16 years of teaching and research experiences. Currently, he is an Associate Professor in the School of Mechanical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, India. His broad areas of research include dual-fuel engine, biogas, alternative fuels, Internal combustion engines, thermodynamics, and waste heat recovery. He has published 26 technical papers in international journals, and 12 papers in international/national conferences.