Performance and Emission Evaluation of Diesel Engine Fueled with Karanja Methyl Ester

Petroleum based fuels are the main source of energy for the transportation vehicles. It is consumed in a very faster rate due to continuous use. Major drawback of fossil fuel usage is exhaust gas emission and it is non-renewable. The search for alternate energy source has been increasing; one of the better alternatives is biodiesel. The biodiesel can be effectively used as an alternate fuel instead of diesel as its properties is very close to diesel. The biodiesel extracted from Karanja oil is tested in diesel engine as B100 and B20 blend and its results were compared with diesel. It was found that the brake thermal efficiency is low for biodiesel and its blend compared to diesel. The specific fuel consumption increases for B100 and B20 than diesel due to its reduced heating value. Carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emission is reduced considerably for B100 compared to B20 and neat diesel. At the same time the NOx emission is also observed to be decreasing for B100 and the NOx of B20 is closer to diesel. From the results obtained the Karanja oil biodiesel can be directly used in direct injection diesel engines and can be a better alternate fuel for the conventional one.