Fuel 279 (2020) 118520

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Fuel
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/fuel

Compatibility test in a CI engine using lemon peel oil and water emulsion as T
fuel
⁎
Suresh Vellaiyana, , K.S. Amirthagadeswaranb
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, CK College of Engineering and Technology, Cuddalore, Tamilnadu, India
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, United Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, India

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: A rapid increase in fossil fuel consumption and its environmental degradation create a demand for biodiesels as a
Diesel engine replacement of diesel fuel. Water emulsion in base fuel is a suitable pre-processing emission control technique as
Lemon peel oil it can reduces the emissions level with improved engine performance. Based on the motivation, a novel attempt
Water emulsion has been made in this present study to evaluate the suitability of LPO and water emulsion as a green fuel for
Performance analysis
diesel engine. LPO is extracted from lemon fruit rinds using a steam distillation method, and various fuel samples
Emission analysis
Combustion analysis
are prepared based on LPO’s volumetric concentration in BD. Emulsion fuel is prepared using sorbitan mono-
laurate surfactant through mechanical homogenization. The physicochemical properties of sample fuels have
been measured based on ASTM standards and their suitability tests are conducted in a single cylinder, four stroke
and natural aspirated diesel engine at various BMEP conditions. The experimental results show that LPO pro-
motes the BSFC and BTE by 11% and 16.2% at peak BMEP condition compared to BD, respectively. The emission
parameters of LPO such as HC, CO, and smoke are reduced by 46.9%, 57.3%, and 15.9% compared to BD,
respectively, whereas the NOx and CO2 emissions are increased by 20.7% and 29.5%. The ICP and NHR values
are increased for LPO compared to BD due to longer IDP. LPO10W emulsion fuel further improves the BSFC and
BTE by 9.8% and 11.6%, and reduces the HC, CO and NOx emissions by 18.7%, 33.3% and 26% compared to
LPO, respectively.

1. Introduction weight, free of sulphur and aromatics, and absence of engine retro-
fitting [6,7]. Generally, the biodiesels are derived from animal fats, and
The fossil fuel usage is steeply increased throughout the world, and all kind of edible, inedible and waste vegetable oils. Several researches
the world economy greatly depends upon the fossil consumption. The have been conducted by using different biodiesels and its blends with
researchers pointed out that the fossil fuel reserves will be exhausted in diesel fuel such as honge, jatropha, mahua, tamanu, soybean and palm
few decades that results in instability of fuel price at present days [1,2]. [8–13]. The experimental results of these test fuels show that the bio-
Apart from that, the fossil fuels, which are based on hydrocarbon diesel derived from vegetable oils are the best choice for diesel fuel, and
compounds emit more amounts of harmful emission that lead to global can be completely and/or partially replaced for diesel fuel. However,
warming, acid rain and other environmental impacts [3]. The pollution the transesterified biodiesels have some negative physicochemical
control board of all nations stringently enforcing the pollution norms properties such as higher viscosity, lower heating value and auto oxi-
for the automobile manufacturers and Bharat Stage VI is put into effect dation that could affect the durability of the engine [14].
for 2020 in India [4]. The above two crucial factors encouraging and To overcome the negative impact of biodiesel derived from vege-
enforcing the engine manufacturers and researchers to develop re- table seeds, plant wood, leaves and biomass are used to derive bio-
newable, economic and eco-friendly alternative fuel for diesel, and diesels that are different from normal vegetable oils. These biodiesels
implemented in many applications for the past two decades [5]. are not engaged with regular transesterification process and having
Out of several renewable and eco-friendly fuels derived from var- lower viscosity compared to other vegetable seed based biodiesels
ious sources, biodiesels are identified as one of the best and promising [15,16]. The low viscous biodiesels lead to better atomization and en-
alternative for engines’ application. This may be due to the positive hanced air–fuel mixing. A very few investigations are carried out using
characteristics of biodiesel such as high oxygen concentration by low viscous biodiesels such as lemongrass oil, pine oil and eucalyptus

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: suresh.vellaiyan@gmail.com (S. Vellaiyan).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2020.118520
Received 2 April 2020; Received in revised form 10 May 2020; Accepted 22 June 2020
0016-2361/ © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
S. Vellaiyan and K.S. Amirthagadeswaran Fuel 279 (2020) 118520

Nomenclature CO2 Carbon dioxide

EGT Exhaust Gas Temperature
BD Base Diesel HC Hydrocarbon
BD25LPO BD + 25% LPO HLB Hydrophilic-Lipophilic Balance
BD50LPO BD + 50% LPO IDP Ignition Delay Period
BD75LPO BD + 75% LPO ICP In-cylinder Pressure
BMEP Brake Mean Effective Pressure LPO Lemon Peel Oil
BSEC Brake Specific Energy Consumption LPO10W LPO + 10% water
BSFC Brake Specific Fuel Consumption NHR Net Heat Release Rate
BTE Brake Thermal Efficiency NOx Oxides of Nitrogen
CA Crank Angle PM Particulate Matter
CHR Cumulative Heat Release Rate TDC Top Dead Centre
CO Carbon monoxide TEC Theoretical Energy Consumption

oil [17 –19]. The experimental results show that, the low viscous bio- micro-explosion phenomena associated with emulsion fuel [7,12,23].
diesels lead to better BTE and BSFC due to complete combustion. The The emission parameters such as HC, CO, PM and smoke emissions are
emission parameters such as HC, CO, PM and smoke emissions are also greatly improved due to the presence of water. Meanwhile, most of the
greatly improved by low viscous biodiesel fuels [15–19]. At the same studies agreed that the engine exhibits negative impact when the water
time, the low viscous biodiesel leads to longer IDP and high magnitude concentration is exceeded to 10% in base fuel [20,24,25]. This could be
of NOx emission, which may lead to rough engine operation and en- the attribute of high latent heat evaporation of water particles that
vironmental effect, respectively [14,15]. results in longer IDP, which may overshadow the micro-explosion ef-
In order to mitigate the NOx emission issues from the diesel engine, fect.
several attempts have been made by the researchers, and are generally The above discussions clearly state that the low viscous biodiesel
classified as pre-processing and post-processing emission control tech- produced by steam distillation process have an ability to exhibit better
niques [20]. Out of these, water emulsion in base fuel, the pre-pro- engine performance and emissions level, and can be completely and/or
cessing technique is mostly appreciated by many researchers as it not partially replaced for commercial diesel fuel. The LPO is identified as a
only improves the emissions level, but also improves the engine per- suitable low viscous biodiesel for this study since it is widely available
formance. Apart from that, the water emulsification techniques need throughout the world, and its carbon chain length is comparatively low
not any engine retrofitting [21–24]. The water emulsion fuels are pre- against standard diesel fuel. Apart from that the heating value of LPO is
pared by mechanical agitation, high-pressure homogenization, and ul- par with standard diesel fuel that may results in identical engine torque.
trasonic and supersonic vibrations methods. Out of these techniques, Due to the lower viscosity and innate oxygen content, the LPO exhibits
mechanical agitation is highly preferred by many researchers as the better atomization, enhanced air–fuel mixing and complete combus-
remaining methods have negative impacts in terms of NOx and smoke tion. Water emulsion in base fuel is a suitable pre-processing emission
emissions [25]. To prepare a stable emulsion fuel, surfactant with sui- control technique that can reduces the emissions level with improved
table HLB value is need to be incorporated with base fuel, and 1–2% of engine performance. Based on the motivation, a novel attempt has been
total volume is preferred for diesel and biodiesel emulsion fuels. made in this present study to evaluate the suitability of LPO and water
A plenty of valuable research has been conducted in the domain of emulsion as a green fuel for diesel engine. LPO is mixed with standard
diesel and biodiesel emulsion fuel [23–26]. An inclusion of water in the diesel fuel at various concentrations such as 25%, 50%, 75%, and
base fuel significantly affects the physicochemical properties such as 100%, and the combustion, performance, and emission parameters are
density, viscosity, flash point and heating value, and the water con- evaluated in a single cylinder diesel engine. The emulsion fuel with
centration has to be limited to certain percentage based on the variation 10% water concentration also prepared with pure LPO, and the ex-
in physicochemical properties [23]. The experimental results of emul- perimental results are compared with standard diesel fuel, LPO and its
sion fuel in diesel engine show that the water inclusion in base fuel blends with BD.
improves the engine combustion and performance parameters due to

Fig. 1. Schematic layout of steam distillation process.

2
S. Vellaiyan and K.S. Amirthagadeswaran Fuel 279 (2020) 118520

2. Materials and methods experiments are repeated 10 times for similar conditions, and the
average value is considered for evaluation to reduce the experimental
2.1. Materials errors. The uncertainty percentage of various measured and calculated
parameters are listed in Table 2, and the overall uncertainty percentage
In the present work, LPO is prepared by steam distillation process of experimental results is calculated as 1.6% using the following
from lemon rinds that are collected from various domestic sources. The equation [27]:
LPO is used as a continuous phase of emulsion and double distilled
water is used as a dispersed phase. Sorbitan monolaurate surfactant uncertainityof (W 2 + P 2 + N 2 + BSFC 2 + BSEC 2
Overalluncertainity =
(C18H34O6; HLB 8.6; density 1.032 kg/m3; flash point 110 °C) is used a + BTE 2 + CO 2 + HC 2 + NOx2 + CO22 + smoke 2)
surfactant to make stable LPO-water emulsion fuel. (1)

2.2. Lemon peel oil extraction

3. Results and discussion
The schematic layout of steam distillation process to extract the LPO
from lemon rinds is shown in Fig. 1. The steam produced in heating The test fuel properties and their combustion, performance and
chamber is allowed to pass over the lemon rinds in distillation chamber. emission parameters in the diesel engine are evaluated and compared
Due to the heating process, the essence of lemon rinds is separated from with base diesel fuel characteristics in order to estimate the suitability
the source and mixed with steam. These fumes are allowed to pass in- of LPO and its blends as a renewable and green energy source for the
side the condenser where the condensation process takes place with diesel engine. The details are presented in the following sections:
help of normal cooling water. The condensed water and LPO are stored
in the collection chamber in which water is settled down at the bottom
3.1. Physicochemical properties of test fuels
of the chamber and LPO is floated over the water due to its low density.
The LPO is separated from the water, and the impurities such as water
The physicochemical properties of test fuels are measured based on
particles and solid particles are removed by normal heating and fil-
ASTM standards. The test methods and uncertainties in measurements
tration process, respectively. The derived pure LPO is blended with base
of physiochemical properties are listed in Table 3. The emulsion sta-
BD at various concentrations say 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%, and
bility is measured based on density variation with respect to time using
named as BD25LPO, BD50LPO, BD75LPO, and LPO, respectively.
a photonic circuit which is followed our previous studies [7,20,23]. The
physicochemical properties of test fuels are represented in Table 4.
2.3. LPO-water emulsion fuel preparation
From the measured value, it is noted that LPO oil hating value is 96.7%
equal to BD along with ingrained oxygen content, which indicates that
In LPO-water emulsion fuel, LPO is used as a continuous phase of
the engine can promote better combustion characteristics without af-
the emulsion, and water is used as a dispersed phase of the emulsion.
fecting the engine performance. The flash point value of LPO oil is also
LPO-water emulsion fuel is prepared using mechanical agitator, and the
closer to standard diesel fuel, which indicates the safety in terms of fuel
schematic layout is shown in Fig. 2. To prepare stable emulsion fuel, the
handling and storage. The viscosity and cetane index are lower for LPO
continuous phase of emulsion (LPO) is poured in the mixing chamber,
compared to BD due to the absence of fatty acid nature [14]. The low
and the dispersed phase of emulsion (water) is added with the con-
viscosity of LPO can improve the spray penetration and enhance the
tinuous phase. In this study, the water concentration is set by 10% as
air–fuel mixing rate that results in efficient combustion [14,15,18].
most of the studies confirm the positive impacts on the engine when the
Meanwhile, the low cetane index of LPO leads to longer IDP compared
water concentration is limited to 10% at diesel/biodiesel [12,20,23].
to BD. An increase of LPO concentration in BD reduces the viscosity,
The surfactant (2% of total volume) and water is added drop-by-drop
heating value, flash point and cetane index. The water emulsified LPO
with the continuous phase of emulsion during the high speed of me-
oil physicochemical properties show that the water inclusion in base
chanical agitation, and stirred constantly about 30 min. Finally, a
fuel significantly increases the fuel density, viscosity and flash point,
normal filtration process is carried out to remove the impurities in LPO-
whereas a noticeable drop in heating value and cetane index are re-
water emulsion fuel, and the prepared fuel is named as LPO10W that
corded. As the LPO oil viscosity is very low compared to diesel fuel,
contains 88% LPO, 10% water and 2% surfactant.
increases of the aforesaid value due to the presence of water particle
would not affect the combustion process [23]. The water emulsified
2.4. Engine test setup
LPO oil stability profile shows the satisfactory level.

The experimental investigations with sample fuels are carried out in

a single cylinder, four stroke, variable compression ratio, natural as-
pirated and water cooled diesel engine with an eddy current dynam-
ometer as a loading device. The maximum engine power is 3.5 kW at
1500 rpm, and the fuel injection is maintained as 23° before top dead
centre. The engine is equipped with necessary instruments to measure
the combustion pressure, CA, air and fuel flow, temperatures and load.
These data are interfaced to a computer through high-speed data ac-
quisition system. EngineSoft, a labVIEW based software is integrated
with the engine test setup to monitor and evaluate the engine’s per-
formance and combustion parameters. The emission parameters such as
HC, CO, NOx and CO2 emissions are measured by using AVL gas ana-
lyzer and smoke opacity is measured using AVL437 smoke meter. The
schematic layout of engine test setup is shown in Fig. 3, and the detailed
specifications of test engine and emission analyzer are listed in Table 1.
Initially, the engine is allowed to run for 10 min with test fuels to
obtain a steady-state condition. Subsequently, the experimental results
are recorded for various fuel blends. For each fuel sample, the Fig. 2. Schematic layout of emulsion preparation setup.

3
S. Vellaiyan and K.S. Amirthagadeswaran Fuel 279 (2020) 118520

Fig. 3. Schematic layout of engine test setup.

Table 1 Table 3
Specifications of test engine and emission analyzer. Test methods and uncertainties in measurements of physiochemical properties.
(a) Engine specifications Measurements ASTM Standard Unit Accuracy

3
Parameter Specification Density at 15⁰ C D1298 kg/m ± 0.0002
Engine type 4-stroke, single cylinder, natural aspirated, variable Viscosity at 40˚C D445 mm2/s ± 0.01
compression ratio diesel engine Flash point D93 ˚C ± 0.02
Bore × Stroke (mm) 87.5 × 110 Lower calorific value D420 MJ/kg ±1
Displacement volume (cc) 661.45 Cetane index D976 – ± 0.03
Max. power 3.5 kW at 1500 rpm
CR range 12–18
Dynamometer Eddy current dynamometer (max. load of 7.5 kW),
Table 4
constant speed 230 V AC supply
Properties of test fuels.
Piezo sensor Range 5000 psi, Diaphragm stainless steel & hermetic
sealed Fuels Lower Density Viscosity at Flash Cetane Stability
Data acquisition device NI USB-6210 Bus powered M Series calorific at 15⁰C 40˚C(mm2/ point˚C index period
Temperature sensor K Type, Sheath 6*110(mm), SS316 value (kg/m3) s) (hrs)
(b) Gas analyzer specifications (MJ/kg)
Measured quality Measuring range Resolution
HC 0 to 20000 ppm vol ≤ 2000: 1 ppm vol, > BD 42.9 830.8 2.81 62 52 –
2000: 10 ppm vol BD25LPO 42.6 834.2 2.37 60 43
CO 0 to 10% vol 0.01% vol BD50LPO 42.1 839.2 1.94 58 34
NOx 0 to 5000 ppm vol 1 ppm vol BD75LPO 41.7 844.6 1.56 56 25
CO2 0–20% vol 0.1% vol LPO 41.5 850.3 1.12 53 15 –
LPO10W 37.4 865.2 1.2 64 14 36

Table 2
List of uncertainty of various measured and calculated quantities. 3.2. Performance characteristics
Quantities Accuracy Uncertainty (%)
3.2.1. Brake specific fuel consumption
Engine speed (N) ± 10 rpm ± 0.1 The BSFC of test fuels under different BMEP conditions is shown in
Dynamometer load cell (W) ± 50 g ± 0.2 Fig. 4, and the enlarged view at peak BMEP condition also represented
Pressure pickup (P) ± 0.1 bar ± 0.05
in the figure. From the figure, it is noted that the BSFC is continuously
Crank angle encoder ±1 ± 0.05
CO emission ± 0.01% ± 0.1 decreased with increasing in the engine BMEP for all the test fuels. In
HC emission ± 10 ppm ± 0.2 this study, the authors considered the exact quantity of LPO alone for
NOx emission ± 10 ppm ± 0.2 the evaluation of fuel consumption in water emulsion fuel and neglect
CO2 emission ± 0.01% ± 0.1
the 10% water quantity. An increase in engine BMEP at high engine
Smoke meter ±1 ± 0.1
Exhaust gas temperature ±1 ± 0.1
load conditions leads to efficient combustion result from high in-cy-
BTE – ± 0.9 linder wall and compressed gas temperatures [28,29]. The experi-
BSFC – ± 0.9 mental results show that LPO blends with BD exhibit low BSFC com-
BSEC – ± 0.9 pared to BD at all BMEP conditions, and the drop in BSFC is directly

4
S. Vellaiyan and K.S. Amirthagadeswaran Fuel 279 (2020) 118520

0.8 of 4.14 bar, LPO10W emulsion fuel promotes 11.6% higher BTE com-
pared to pure LPO though the heating value of water emulsified LPO is
0.7
lower than pure LPO. The water emulsified LPO fuel accelerates the
BSFC in kg/kW-hr

0.6 combustion process due to micro-explosion of water particles present in

0.5 the fuel [12,17,21]. The higher BTE of LPO10W fuel shows that an
inclusion of water in base fuel can perform even better than biodiesel
0.4
and conventional diesel fuel.
0.3

0.2 3.2.4. Theoretical energy consumption

1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 The theoretical energy consumption value is used to study the
BMEP in bar combustion efficiency of test fuels, and the value mainly depends upon
BD BD25LPO BD50LPO the mass of fuel injected in the combustion chamber and its corre-
BD75LPO LPO LPO10W sponding calorific value [4]. Fig. 7 indicates the TEC of test fuels under
different BMEP conditions. The graphical representation indicates that
Fig. 4. BSFC of test fuels under different BMEP conditions. the TEC value is continuously increased with increase in engine load
due to an increase in fuel supply. Among the test fuels, BD exhibits a
proportional to increases in LPO concentration. The pure LPO exhibits higher TEC value and this value is significantly reduced with increase in
lower BSFC compared to BD and its blends with LPO. Though the BD LPO concentration. The presence of water in LPO further reduces the
and LPO having almost similar heating value, LPO consumes less TEC value. The possible explanations for lower energy consumption of
amount of fuel due to its low viscosity that can improves the fuel ato- LPO10W, LPO and its blend with BD are detailed in section 3.2.1 to
mization and accelerates the air–fuel mixing [14,15]. At peak BMEP, 3.2.3. At peak BMEP condition, the TEC value of LPO is 13.9% lower
the BSFC of LPO is 11% lesser than BD. The water inclusion with LPO than BD, and LPO10W emulsion fuel exhibits 10.4% lower TEC com-
significantly reduces the BSFC at high engine load conditions, and pared to pure LPO.
marginally increases at low engine load conditions. This could be the
positive attributes of water emulsion fuel such as micro-explosion and 3.2.5. Exhaust gas temperature
secondary atomization [30]. However, the negative impact at low en- The engine exhaust gas temperature mainly depends upon the IDP,
gine load conditions is recorded as the latent heat absorption of water fuel quality and combustion efficiency, and the high value indicates the
particles and low in-cylinder gas temperature overshadow the positive loss in conversion of heat into work [4,25]. The graphical representa-
effects [12,23]. At peak BMEP of 4.14 bar, the BSFC of LPO10W is tion of EGT loss of all test fuels under different BMEP conditions is
marginally high compared to pure LPO though the heating value of shown in Fig. 8. The EGT loss is increased with increase in engine load
LPO10W is 9.8% lesser than pure LPO. due to an increase in fuel quantity [28]. Similar to BSFC and BSEC, the
EGT also high for BD due to its poor evaporation rate compared to LPO
and its blends. At peak BMEP condition, the EGT of LPO is 6.6% lower
3.2.2. Brake specific energy consumption
than BD. At low load condition, LPO10W emulsion fuel EGT loss is
The BSEC of test fuels indicate that the amount of energy consumed
higher than pure LPO, and this trend is reversed at high engine loads
by the engine to produce the desired power output. The graphical re-
due to the secondary atomization. At maximum BMEP of 4.14 bar, the
presentation of BSEC of all test fuels under different BMEP conditions is
EGT loss of LPO10W emulsion fuel is noted as 5% lower than LPO.
shown in Fig. 5. Similar to BSFC, BSEC also reduced with increase in
LPO concentration, and pure LPO exhibits lower BSEC compared to BD,
and its blend with LPO. The better evaporation rate of low viscous fuel 3.3. Emission characteristics
consumes low energy for the same amount of power developed by the
engine [14,31]. At maximum BMEP condition, LPO exhibits 13.9% 3.3.1. Brake specific HC emission
lower BSEC compared to BD, whereas BD25LPO, BD50LPO and An incomplete air–fuel mixing and poor air entrainment lead to
BD75LPO fuels exhibit 3.1%, 6.7% and 10% lower BSEC compared to formation of richer fuel–air zone in the combustion chamber those re-
BD, respectively. Similar to BSFC, BSEC trend also increased at low sult in high magnitude of HC emission [33]. Fig. 9 represents the HC
engine load and decreased at medium and high engine loads. The ad- emission of test fuels under different BMEP conditions in g/kW-hr.
ditional force acting on the piston force due to the presence of steam in From the figure, it is observed that HC emission is decreased with in-
water emulsified LPO reduces the BSEC to produce the desired power creases in engine BMEP due to the efficient combustion. The rich
output [20,26,30]. At peak BMEP condition, LPO10W emulsion fuel oxygen availability and low carbon content in biodiesel promote com-
reduces the BSEC by 10.4% compared to pure LPO. plete combustion [33,34]. Hence, pure LPO and its blends with diesel

3.2.3. Brake thermal efficiency 30

The BTE is normally a function of fuel consumption and the calorific 25
BSEC in MJ/kW-hr

value of the fuel at a particular engine operating conditions. The BTE of

test fuels under different BMEP conditions is shown in Fig. 6. From the 20
graphical representation, it is noted that an increase in LPO con-
15
centration increases the BTE under all loading conditions, and an in-
crease in engine load improves the BTE significantly. At BMEP of 10
4.14 bar, pure LPO increases the BTE by 16.2% compared to BD. This
may be due to the improved combustion characteristics of low viscous 5
LPO fuel. The low viscosity and low boiling point of LPO accelerate the 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
BMEP in bar
air–fuel mixing that may results in improved fuel evaporation process
[31,32]. The in-built oxygen in LPO also significantly contributes to BD BD25LPO BD50LPO
better engine performance. For water emulsified LPO fuel, the BTE is BD75LPO LPO LPO10W
2.6% lower than pure LPO at BMEP of 1.03 bar, whereas the trend is
reversed at medium and high load conditions. At the maximum BMEP Fig. 5. BSEC of test fuels under different BMEP conditions.

5
S. Vellaiyan and K.S. Amirthagadeswaran Fuel 279 (2020) 118520

30

25

CO in g/kW-hr
20

15

10

0
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
BMEP in bar
BD BD25LPO BD50LPO
BD75LPO LPO LPO10W

Fig. 6. BTE of test fuels under different BMEP conditions. Fig. 10. CO emission of test fuels under different BMEP conditions.

generate low HC emission formation at all engine loads compared to

12
BD. At peak BMEP condition, pure LPO exhibits 46.9% lower HC for-
TEC in kJ/sec

10 mation compared to BD, whereas BD75LPO, BD50LPO, and BD25LPO

exhibit 36.8%, 26.8%, and 13.4% lower HC emission, respectively. At
8 BMEP of 1.03 bar, LPO10W emulsion fuel generates 5.9% higher HC
emission compared to pure LPO, and at BMEP of 2.05 bar both fuels
6 show similar magnitude. This trend is reversed at high engine loads due
to vigorous micro-explosion of emulsion fuel that may overcome the
4 drawback of high latent heat absorption of water particles at low engine
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
loads [23,25]. LPO10W emulsion fuel promotes 18.7% lower brake
BMEP in bar
specific HC emission at peak BMEP condition compared to pure LPO.
BD BD25LPO BD50LPO
BD75LPO LPO LPO10W 3.3.2. Brake specific CO emission
An incomplete conversion of CO in base fuel into CO2 during the
Fig. 7. TEC of test fuels under different BMEP conditions. combustion process leads to formation of CO emission in the diesel
engine. The possible causes of lack in oxygen availability are low fuel
atomization rate, low fuel injection pressure and long IDP [34,35].
400 Fig. 10 represents the brake specific CO emission of test fuels under
350 different BMEP conditions. From the figure, it is noted that at low load
conditions, the formation of CO is high due to lean flame combustion
EGT in °C

300
zone. The lack of oxygen inside the jet core for the end portion of fuel
250
injected at peak load condition also increases the CO formation. At 75%
200
load condition, the engine exhibits a better combustion. It is also noted
150 that, the BD exhibits high magnitude of CO emission compared to LPO
100 and its blends with diesel fuel, and an increase in engine brake power
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 reduces the formation of CO due to efficient combustion at higher en-
BMEP in bar gine loads. The lower formation of CO emission in LPO and its blends
with diesel are due to more oxygen availability in the biodiesel com-
BD BD25LPO BD50LPO pared to conventional diesel fuel [31,35]. At maximum BMEP condi-
BD75LPO LPO LPO10W tion, LPO exhibits 57.3% lower brake specific CO emission compared to
BD, whereas BD25LPO, BD50LPO, and BD75LPO exhibits 14.4%,
Fig. 8. EGT of test fuels under different BMEP conditions. 28.7%, and 43% lower brake specific CO emission, respectively. Simi-
larly, LPO10W emulsion fuel exhibits 33.3% lower brake specific CO
emission compared to pure LPO at peak BMEP condition due to en-
0.5
hanced micro-explosion behaviour and secondary atomization. Mean-
0.4 while, the water emulsified fuel exhibits high CO formation at low
HC in g/kW-hr

engine load (10.3% higher than pure LPO at BMEP of 1.03 bar) due to
0.3
latent heat absorption of water particles and low combustion tem-
0.2 perature [25,30].

0.1
3.3.3. Brake specific NOx emission
0 According to Zeldovich mechanism, the rate of NOx formation is
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 significant at high activation energy of reaction that requires the tem-
BMEP in bar perature of above 1800 K [12,20]. Due to the higher oxygen availability
BD BD25LPO BD50LPO and enhanced combustion associated with the diesel engine forms more
BD75LPO LPO LPO10W amount of NOx emission compared to the gasoline engine [10,15]. The
test fuels NOx emission characteristics at various BMEP conditions are
Fig. 9. HC emission of test fuels under different BMEP conditions. represented in Fig. 11. From the figure, it is noted that the brake spe-
cific NOx emission is continuously reduced with increases in engine

6
S. Vellaiyan and K.S. Amirthagadeswaran Fuel 279 (2020) 118520

17 and LPO compared to BD, respectively. Similar to HC and CO emissions,

smoke formation also reduced for water emulsified LPO under high
engine load condition. At BMEP of 4.14 bar, LPO10W emulsion fuel
NOx in g/kW-hr

15
reduces the smoke formation by 11.9% compared to pure LPO.
13
3.4. Combustion characteristics
11

3.4.1. In-cylinder pressure rise

9
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 The ICP variation of test fuels under peak BMEP condition is shown
BMEP in bar in Fig. 14. From the graphical representation, it is noted that an in-
BD BD25LPO BD50LPO crease in LPO concentration in BD increases the ICP. The low viscosity
BD75LPO LPO LPO10W
and boiling point of LPO promote better air–fuel mixing and enhance
fuel evaporation rate results in complete combustion [14,32]. Mean-
while, the corresponding CA of ICPmax is increased along with in-
Fig. 11. NOx emission of test fuels under different BMEP conditions.
creasing in LPO due to longer IDP. Several studies agree that the low
cetane index fuels lead to longer IPD compared to standard fuel
brake power due to the efficient combustion at higher engine loads. An [14,15,18,31]. Due to longer IDP, more quantity of combustible air–-
increase in LPO concentration with BD increases the NOx formation, fuel mixture is accumulated in the pre-mixed combustion stage that
and pure LPO exhibit higher NOx emission compared to base diesel and results in peak ICP. At peak BMEP condition, the ICPmax of BD is ab-
its blend with LPO. The low viscous LPO significantly increases the IDP sorbed at CA of 6°ATDC as 56.64 bar, whereas the LPO inclusion with
that results in accumulation of combustible air–fuel mixture at pre- BD gradually increases the ICP and its corresponding CA. For LPO, the
mixed combustion stage, and increases the flame temperature and heat ICPmax value is increased by 13.5% compared to BD at the advance-
release rate [31,32]. At peak BMEP condition, BD25LPO emits 4.5% ment of CA by 3° compared to BD. For water emulsified LPO, the
higher NOx emission compared to BD, whereas BD50LPO, BD75LPO, ICPmax value is further increased compared to BD and LPO due to
and pure LPO emit 9.6%, 15.3%, and 20.7% higher NOx emission, re- longer IDP. The latent heat absorption of water particles present in the
spectively. Meanwhile, the water emulsified LPO fuel exhibits lower fuel significantly increases the IDP and results in high ICPmax value
NOx emission as the combustion flame temperature is significantly re- [21,22]. The corresponding CA value also increased for 10WLPO oil
duced due to high latent heat absorption of water particles [21,23]. At compared to LPO. An increase in the ICPmax value is noted as 3.7% for
BMEP of 4.14 bar pressure, LPO10W emulsion fuel reduces the brake 10WLPO compared to LPO.
specific NOx emission by 26% compared to pure LPO.
3.4.2. Net heat release rate
3.3.4. Brake specific CO2 emission The variation in NHR value of BD, LPO blends with BD, LPO and
The brake specific CO2 emission of test fuels under different BMEP water emulsified LPO is shown in Fig. 15. NHR value indicates the heat
conditions is depicted in Fig. 12. Generally, the high CO2 emission at energy released by the fuel during the combustion process in the diesel
engine exhaust indicates the better combustion efficiency and this engine with respect to CA. The NHR value is calculated based on ICP
emission trend is inversely proportional to HC and CO emissions. Si- and CA of corresponding fuel sample by using the following equation as
milar to other emissions, the brake CO2 emission also reduces with expressed by Krieger and Borman single-zone model [32]:
increase in engine load due to better thermal efficiency at high engine dQnet γ dV 1 dP
load conditions [25,28]. The enhanced air–fuel mixing, more oxygen = p + V
d Ḯ γ − 1 d Ḯ γ − 1 d Ḯ (2)
availability and complete combustion of low viscous LPO promote high
CO2 emission compared to BD [14,31]. At peak BMEP of 4.14 bar, LPO where
emits 29.5% higher CO2 compared to BD. The CO2 emission of water
emulsified LPO is lower compared to pure LPO at low engine load Qnet – net heat release rate
conditions due to high latent hear absorption of water particles that ϴ – crank angle
may lead to incomplete combustion. However, this trend is reversed at γ – specific heat ratio
high load conditions due to secondary atomization that results in p – in-cylinder pressure
complete combustion [4]. At peak engine load condition, LPO10W V – instantaneous cylinder volume
emulsion fuel emits 3.9% higher CO2 emission compared to pure LPO.
The graphical representation of test fuels’ NHR value shows that
3.3.5. Smoke opacity
The partial or incomplete reaction of carbon and hydrocarbon 2000
CO2 in g/kW-hr

particles present in the fuel during the combustion process form more 1800
amount of smoke at the combustion exit [14,18]. The smoke opacity of 1600
BD, BD with LPO blends, pure LPO and water emulsified LPO is re-
1400
presented in Fig. 13 respect to various BMEP conditions. Form the
1200
graphical representation, it is noted that at low and medium engine
loads, the smoke formation is low due to low quantity of fuel injection, 1000
and this trend is significantly increased at high engine loads due to high 800
fuel injection rate. It is also observed that an increase in LPO con- 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
centration with BD significantly reduces the smoke formation and the BMEP in bar
trend is correlated with HC and CO emissions. The rich oxygen content
and enhanced combustion properties associated with LPO oil promote BD BD25LPO BD50LPO
low magnitude of smoke emission compared to BD [14,31,32]. At the BD75LPO LPO LPO10W
peak BMEP condition, a drop of 4.7%, 8.8%. 12.4%, and 15.9% in
smoke formation are recorded with BD25LPO, BD50LPO, BD75LPO, Fig. 12. CO2 emission of test fuels under different BMEP conditions.

7
S. Vellaiyan and K.S. Amirthagadeswaran Fuel 279 (2020) 118520

17 Qcumulative = ∫ P γ −γ 1 dV + V γ −1 1 dP (3)
Smoke opacity in %vol

14
From the calculated value it is noted that the CHR value moves
11
downward direction when the fuel is injected in the combustion
8 chamber as the fuel particles start to evaporate during the IDP. Once the
5
combustion is initiated, the CHR value is intensely increased and
reaches the maximum value [31,32]. The CHR value of BD is low and
2 an increase in LPO concentration in BD increases the CHR value due to
-1 an improvement in air–fuel mixing that result in complete combustion.
-0.5 0.5 1.5 2.5 3.5 4.5
BMEP in bar Though the IDP is increased with increase in LPO concentration, the in-
BD BD25LPO BD50LPO built oxygen associated with LPO accelerates the combustion process
BD75LPO LPO LPO10W
and results in high CHR value [14]. It is also noted that LPO10W
emulsion fuel shows the maximum CHR value compared to other test
Fig. 13. Smoke opacity of test fuels under different BMEP conditions.
fuels. The micro-explosion phenomena and the secondary atomization
associated with emulsion fuel promote efficient combustion at high
engine load condition and release more amount of CHR value [36].

3.4.4. Ignition delay period

The IDP is generally defined as the time difference between fuel
injection and start of combustion process. During the IDP, the NHR
value moves to negative and it comes to positive once the ignition starts
due to the latent heat absorption of fuel particles [25]. The CA differ-
ence between the negative and positive loop is noted as the IDP. The
IDP in terms of CA is converted into milliseconds (ms) using the fol-
lowing equation [37]:
°CA
IDPt (ms ) = ∗ 1000
N ( )∗
min
60 s ( )
360°
rev (4)
From the above mentioned equation, the IDP in ms is calculated as
Fig. 14. ICP of test fuels under peak BMEP condition (4.14 bar). 1.2222, 1.2667, 1.3000, 1.3333, 1.3778 and 1.5333 for BD, BD25LPO,
BD50LPO, BD75LPO, LPO and LPO10W, respectively. The IDP is con-
tinuously increased with increase in LPO concentration in BD. This is
60 due to the lower cetane index of LPO which is significantly affects the
50 auto-ignition property of fuel and increases the IDP. Several authors
reported that the low viscous and low cetane indexed fuels exhibit
40
longer IDP compared to BD [31,32,37]. The water inclusion in LPO
NHR in J/deg

30 further increases the IDP as the water particles present in the fuel ab-
20 sorb more amount of heat during the phase change process [4].
10
4. Conclusion
0
-40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40
-10 The present investigation explores the suitability of LPO and water
CA in deg
emulsion as a renewable and green fuel for the internal combustion
BD BD25LPO BD50LPO engine. LPO is prepared by steam distillation process and mixed with
BD75LPO LPO LPO10W standard diesel fuel at various concentrations, and 10% water is mixed
with pure LPO using mechanical agitation. The engine behaviour with
Fig. 15. NHR of test fuels under peak BMEP condition (4.14 bar). test fuels is evaluated under different BMEP conditions and compared
with BD. The study conclusions are as follows:
NHRmax is continuously increased with increases in LPO concentration
in BD. Much literature confirms that the low cetane indexed fuels ex-
hibit longer IDP due to poor initiation of combustion process
[15,18,32]. The present study also confirms the same and exhibits high
NHRmax value, and this trend is directly proportional to increases in
LPO concentration. At peak BMEP, BD exhibits the NHRmax value of
46.17 J/deg at −3°BTDC, whereas pure LPO exhibits 52.8 J/deg at
−1°BTDC. The water inclusion in LPO further increases the NHRmax
value by 4.4% compared to pure LPO. This could be the impact of
longer IDP associated with water particles in LPO fuel.

3.4.3. Cumulative heat release rate

The variation of cumulative heat release rate of test fuels under peak
BMEP condition is shown in Fig. 16. The CHR value of test fuels is
calculated by using the following equation [32]: Fig. 16. CHR of test fuels under peak BMEP condition (4.14 bar).

8
S. Vellaiyan and K.S. Amirthagadeswaran Fuel 279 (2020) 118520

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