An experimental study on performance, emission and deposit characteristic in low-speed diesel engine 4,897 kWe fueled with crude palm oil

Since the European Union (EU) issued the Renewable Energy Directive policy that controls the use of palm oil as a source for biofuel, the export of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) from Indonesia to the EU country is decreasing. On the other side, the Indonesia Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resource created a road map for using CPO as fuel for the diesel engine to decrease fossil fuel consumption, increasing renewable energy share, and supporting national energy security. This study investigates the influence of using CPO on the performance, emission, and deposit characteristics of low-speed diesel engine power plants with capacity 4,897 kWe. The test uses 2 types of fuel, CPO and biodiesel (820), at three points of load for each fuel, 50%, 80%, and 100% load. Results show that the engine fuel consumption using CPO increase by 1.16% to 4.91% compared to 820 fuel. The cylinder exhaust temperature decreased by 2.7% to 3.5% while the exhaust gas temperature increased by 46.3% at low load and 7.2% at high load. The combustion pressure and Indicated Horse Power on the engine are relatively similar for both fuels. The CO emissions reduced by 8.4% to 14.9%, while SO2 emissions also decreased by 13.1 ppm to 19.5 ppm compared to using 820. The NOx and NO emissions increase 25.6% and 32.3%, while the CH4 content in the flue gas using CPO has significantly increased by 0.7 to 1.3 times CH4 value in the 820 test. After running test, the deposit was observed on the injector nozzle tip and cylinder head with the dominant carbon element in the injector nozzle tip and calcium element on the cylinder heads.