Performance and emission evaluation of biodiesel derived from waste restaurant oil and Moringa oleifera: a comparative study

ABSTRACT

Biodiesel as an alternative to fossil-based diesel has shown great promise but, sustainable feedstock source remains a challenge. Biodiesel produced from waste restaurant oil and Moringa oleifera had their thermo-physical and engine characteristics evaluated in a validated property prediction scheme and a 3.5-kW direct injection compression ignition engine. Results revealed that waste restaurant oil biodiesel with a relatively higher palmitate of 20% (saturated fatty acid methyl ester [FAME]) and oleic of 52.8% (unsaturated FAME) had a 5% higher brake thermal efficiency (BTE) at peak load, a 65% lower brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) across the load spectrum and 5% to 10% lower brake specific carbon monoxide (BSCO) than Moringa biodiesel which had 6.5% palmitate and 72.2% oleic. Regarding brake specific NOx (BSNO_X) emission, Moringa biodiesel showed a lower level of 6.2% across the full load spectrum.

KEYWORDS:

• Brake specific emissions
• saturated FAME
• unsaturated FAME
• thermal performance

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

E. I. Onuh http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3891-222X

O. Awogbemi http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6830-6434