DIESEL ENGINE PERFORMANCE AND EMISSION EVALUATION USING CANOLA BIODIESEL EMULSION FUEL

Diesel engines exhausting gaseous emission and particulate matter have long been regarded as one of the major air pollution sources, particularly in metropolitan areas, and have been a source of serious public concern for a long time. The emulsification method is not only motivated by cost reduction but is also one of the potentially effective techniques to reduce exhaust emission from diesel engines. Water / diesel (W/D) emulsified formulations are reported to reduce the emissions of NOx, CO and particulate matter (PM) without compensating the engine’s performance. Emulsion fuels with varying contents of water and diesel were prepared by conventional surfactant. An experimental investigation was carried out to produce a stable diesel-water emulsion fuel to be used in a diesel engine under different operating conditions. The proper mixing technique and emulsifying agent were used to produce stable emulsions of 15 % water by volume in diesel. The physical properties of stable water-diesel emulsions such as density, viscosity and pour point were observed. The effect of water-diesel concentrations, on the performance of a single cylinder diesel engine(at 23degree bTDC and 200bar injection pressure) in terms of engine speed, brake power output, specific fuel consumption, brake thermal efficiency, exhaust gas temperature and emissions such as NOx and particulate matter (PM) were studied. The results showed that the water emulsification has a potential to improve the diesel engine performance and to reduce gas pollutants