B. Nagalingam

Bio: B. Nagalingam is an academic researcher from SRM University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Diesel fuel & Diesel engine. The author has an hindex of 7, co-authored 17 publications receiving 151 citations.

Effect of fuel inlet temperature on cottonseed oil–diesel mixture composition and performance in a DI diesel engine

Abstract: Vegetable oils are receiving a lot of attraction as alternative engine fuels as they are renewable. The main problems with the use of neat vegetable oils in direct injection (DI) diesel engines are higher viscosity and relatively lower thermal efficiency as compared to diesel fuel. In this investigation the cotton seed oil (CSO) has been considered as an alternative fuel for the compression ignition (C.I.) engine. The viscosity of this oil is decreased by blending with diesel and preheating the CSO–diesel blends to reduce the viscosity further. The mixture of varying proportions of cotton seed oil and diesel were prepared and their viscosities at various inlet temperatures were calculated and the performance and emission levels of these mixtures are compared with diesel fuel. The performance of the engine using preheated blends and cottonseed oil were studied using a single cylinder diesel engine. Significant improvement in engine performance is observed with preheated CSO and diesel mixture compared to neat CSO. Test results show that there is a marginal increase in the brake thermal efficiency of the engine, as the fuel inlet temperature of the blend and the amount of diesel in the blend increases. It is increases from 28% to the maximum of 30.5% with preheated CSO and diesel mixture of 40%. The smoke, carbon monoxide (CO) and unburnt hydrocarbons (HC) emissions of the engine is also less with the preheated blends. Smoke emission reduces from 3.9 Bosch smoke unit (BSU) to 3.5 Bosch smoke unit (BSU) which is very close to diesel smoke value of 3.4 BSU. Heat release rates indicated an increase in combustion rate with preheated mixtures. The cylinder peak pressure increases from 70.4 bar to 72.5 bar for optimum preheated mixture (60% CSO and 40% diesel at 343 K). From the engine test results it has been established that 60% of cotton seed oil at 343 K can be substituted for diesel.

Simultaneous reduction of NO–smoke–CO 2 emission in a biodiesel engine using low-carbon biofuel and exhaust after-treatment system

Abstract: The present work focuses on the simultaneous reduction of NO–smoke–CO2 emission in a Karanja oil methyl ester (KOME)-fueled single-cylinder compression ignition engine by using low-carbon biofuel with exhaust after-treatment system. Replacement of KOME for diesel reduced smoke emission by 3% but resulted in increase of NO emission and CO2 emission by 13 and 35% at 100% load condition. In order to reduce CO2 emission, tests were conducted with a blend of KOME and orange seed oil (OSO), a low-carbon fuel on equal volume basis (50–50). At the same operating conditions, compared to KOME, 27% reduction in CO2 emission and 5% reduction in smoke emission were observed. However, a slight increase in NO emission was observed. To achieve simultaneous reduction of NO–smoke–CO2 emissions, three catalysts, namely monoethanolamine, zeolite and activated carbon, were selected for exhaust after-treatment system and tested with optimum KOME–OSO blend. KOME–OSO + zeolite showed a great potential in simultaneous reduction of NO–smoke–CO2 emissions. NO, smoke and CO2 emissions were simultaneously reduced by about 15% for each emission compared to diesel at 100% load condition. The effect of exhaust after-treatment system with KOME–OSO blend on combustion, performance and other emission parameters is discussed in detail in this study. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry analysis and testing were done to identify the absorbance characteristics of zeolite material.

The performance, emissions, and combustion characteristics of an unmodified diesel engine running on the ternary blends of pentanol/safflower oil biodiesel/diesel fuel

Abstract: The objective of the present study is to scrutinize the influence of a binary blend of diesel–safflower oil biodiesel and ternary blends of diesel–biodiesel–pentanol on performance, emission and combustion characteristics of a diesel power generator. The test fuels were prepared on volume basis by splash blending and named as follows: B20, B20P5, B20P10, B20P15, and B20P20. The tests were carried out on a single-cylinder, four-stroke, naturally aspirated, and direct-injection diesel engine at four engine loads with a constant engine speed of 3000 rpm. According to the results, ternary blends vaguely reduced BTE while increased BSFC up to 13.90% as compared to diesel. In addition, an increase in pentanol concentration has a considerable effect on the decrease in NOX emissions. It is noted that the addition of pentanol to diesel–biodiesel blend caused to lower emissions (CO, HC, and smoke), whereas CO2 emission increased noticeably thanks to the more complete combustion due to the excess oxygen content. Reviewing combustion analysis results, pentanol addition led to decrease heat release rate and lower ignition delay up to 15% blend ratio compared to diesel. Based on the present study, pentanol can be evaluated as a promising type of higher alcohol for the compression ignition engines in the near future.