Performance evaluation of rice bran biodiesel in small size agricultural diesel engines

India is the second largest rice producing country in the world. The estimated yield of crude Rice Bran Oil (RBO) is about 400,000 tons of which only 50% is of edible grade, 50% of the total available rice bran oil is left unutilized due to the presence of active lipase in bran and lack of economic stabilization methods most of the bran is used as animal feed or for industrial application. One of the best ways for the potential utilization of RBO is the production of biodiesel. This study targets at finding the effects of the engine parameters to compare the performance of diesel and rice bran biodiesel blends. Rice Bran (RB) blends were found to be substitute for diesel fuel. Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTHE) was maximum for RB05 blend and minimum for RB20 blend. RB05 blend can be considered as a substitute for diesel with lower Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC) and Brake Specific Energy Consumption (BSEC), RB15 was found to have minimum smoke opacity. Keywords: Rice bran oil, Blend, Brake parameters and opacit