Energy and Exergy Analyses of a Diesel Engine Fuelled with Various Biodiesels

This study deals with comparative energy and exergy analyses of a four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine using two different biodiesel fuels, petroleum diesel fuel, and blends of the biodiesels with petroleum diesel. Utilizing experimental data obtained from steady-state tests, balances of energy and exergy rates for the engine were determined. Then, various performance parameters of the engine were evaluated for each fuel operation. It was found that the tested biodiesels offer almost the same energetic performance as petroleum diesel fuel, while the exergetic performance parameters usually follow similar trends with the corresponding energetic ones.

Keywords:

• diesel engine
• biodiesel
• energy analysis
• exergy analysis
• alternative fuel