Performance, combustion and emission characteristics of a compression ignition engine operating on pine oil

Abstract

Environment pollution, increasing fuel prices and its demand have promoted an interest in development of alternative fuel for petroleum products. Biofuel is preferred as an alternative fuel for IC engines due to its abundant availability and renewable nature. It is renewable, biodegradable, oxygenated, sulfur free and reduces their adverse effects on climate change. This paper evaluates the possibility of using pine oil as an alternative fuel for diesel. The viscosity, flash point and cetane index of pine oil are lower than that of diesel. The calorific value of this oil is higher than that of diesel fuel. In the present work the performance, combustion and emission characteristics of a single-cylinder, constant speed, DI diesel engine using pine oil and its blends as an alternative fuel were studied. The results are compared with standard diesel fuel. The test results indicates that there is a slight increase in brake thermal efficiency and a decrease in brake specific fuel consumption for all pine blended fuels when compared to that of diesel fuel. The pine oil blends produce a higher heat release than that of diesel fuel. The use of pine oil resulted in lower emissions of CO and HC and increased emissions of CO₂ and NOx. The experimental results prove that the use of pine oil and its blends in the compression ignition engine is a viable alternative to diesel.

Keywords:

• pine oil
• biofuel
• performance
• combustion
• emission
• DI diesel engine