Effect of preheated jatropha oil and jatropha oil methyl ester with producer gas on diesel engine performance

The present experimental study demonstrates the performance and emission characteristics of a single cylinder dual fuel diesel engine with producer gas as the primary fuel and diesel, preheated Jatropha oil and Jatropha oil methyl ester as injected fuels. In order to reduce the viscosity of Jatropha oil, a shell and tube type heat exchanger was designed and fabricated for preheating Jatropha oil using engine exhaust gas. The performance parameters, such as brake specific fuel consumption, brake thermal efficiency and exhaust gas temperature, have shown improved results with baseline diesel and producer gas, whereas the above parameters are very close to other test fuels under different loading conditions. All the emission parameters are found to be on the higher side for preheated oil- compared to diesel-producer gas dual fuel operation at all load conditions. With Jatropha oil methyl ester-producer gas dual fuel operation, however, emission parameters such as CO2, smoke and NOx are higher compared to diesel-producer gas operation. The smoke emission for preheated Jatropha oil-producer gas dual fuel operation is approximately 60% higher than that of diesel-producer gas operation at full load. From the present experimental investigation it may be concluded that alternative fuel combinations such as preheated Jatropha oil-producer gas and Jatropha oil methyl ester-producer gas can successfully replace diesel as the major fuel in diesel engines with little modification. The present paper also recommends further investigation to improve fuel properties and in-cylinder combustion phenomena of preheated Jatropha oil and its methyl ester before use in a diesel engine.