Refuse-derived fuel for diesel engine utilizing waste transformer oil

Abstract

In this article, a refuse-derived fuel (RDF) utilizing waste transformer oil (WTO) as an alternative fuel for use in diesel engines was investigated. As WTO has properties similar to those of diesel fuel with a marginally higher viscosity and lower calorific value, this investigation was aimed to reuse the WTO as a possible source of energy to run a small powered, single-cylinder, four-stroke, air-cooled, direct-injection (DI) diesel engine. For this, untreated WTO was filtered and then blended with diesel in various proportions (10%, 20% and 30%) and tested in the diesel engine. Engine performance parameters, namely brake power, brake specific fuel consumption and brake thermal efficiency, and emissions of engine exhaust gases such as CO_x and NO_x, were studied for different loading conditions at a constant engine speed of 1500 rpm. Investigations were also repeated with after-pyrolysis refined WTO (RWTO). The test results indicate that there is a slight increase in brake thermal efficiency and decrease in specific fuel consumption for all blended fuels (both unrefined and refined) when compared to that of diesel fuel. The results are analyzed and compared with diesel operation of the same engine.

Keywords:

• Diesel engine
• fuel properties
• pyrolysis
• refuse-derived fuel
• transformer oil

Acknowledgment

The authors are thankful to the anonymous reviewers and the editor for providing valuable comments to improvise the technical content of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.