Combustion Analysis of Jatropha Oil in Pre-combustion Chamber Type Compression Ignition Engine

Recently, alternative fuels are actively studied all over the world. The main reasons are the depletion of crude oil, soaring oil prices and the global warming problem. Biomass fuel is one of the most up and coming alternative fuels from the viewpoint of carbon neutrality. The problem with biomass fuel is that it creates competition between food and fuel. Thus, the authors considered Jatropha which is a non-food plant. Its seed contains phorbol ester which is toxic and thus is inedible. The combustion analysis of Jatropha oil mixed with Marine diesel oil was studied. A 4-stroke pre-combustion chamber type compression ignition engine was used because of its ability to handle inferior fuels. Increasing the mixture ratio of Jatropha oil resulted in reduced NOx emissions and a decreasing tendency of smoke opacity. Each fuel showed an approximately equal value of thermal efficiency. The results show that in a pre-combustion chamber type compression ignition engine, Jatropha oil and blended fuel can be used as an alternative fuel to MDO.