Experimental investigation and modeling of the evaporation rate of carbon nanotube blended emulsified Neem biodiesel

ABSTRACT

Neem biodiesel is an abundant fuel in India. However, the higher viscosity and lower calorific value result in a lower evaporation rate, hence limiting its use in combustion applications. The evaporation rate of fuel plays a very important role in combustion reactions. An improvement in evaporation rate can be achieved using nanoparticles in Neem biodiesel. The present investigation was carried out to determine the evaporation characteristics of carbon nanotube suspended Neem biodiesel with different dosing ratios of nanoparticles with and without water. An improvement in evaporation rate with addition of carbon nanotubes was seen in Neem biodiesel. An improvement in calorific value and cetane number was obtained. It can be concluded that an increase in nanoparticle concentration results in an enhancement in evaporation rate. A regression model was developed and found to be statistically significant.

KEYWORDS:

• Neem biodiesel
• carbon nanotube
• evaporation rate

Acknowledgments

Author is thankful to G. H. Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.