Abstract As the demand for sustainable energy and environmental protection grows, alternative biofuels like biodiesel derived from Jatropha Curcas show great potential. By utilizing advanced transesterification techniques with a potassium hydroxide (KOH) catalyst and methanol mixture, we can produce biodiesel and blend it with diesel fuel in varying proportions (1–5 %). These blends demonstrate favourable physical and thermal properties that meet ASTM standards, with kinematic viscosity ranging from 2.1 to 2.5 × 10 −6 m 2 /s. An experimental evaluation of biodiesel/diesel blends in compression ignition (CI) engines with direct injection, tested under various load conditions (10–70 %), produces compelling results. Among the tested blends, the 5 % biodiesel mixture shows superior performance, exhibiting optimal in-cylinder pressure (32 bar), brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) of 0.32 ± 0.02 kg/kWh, brake power (BP) of 5.2 ± 0.17 kW, and brake thermal efficiency (BTE) of 34 %. Additionally, this blend results in lower emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) at 0.40 %, hydrocarbons (HC) at 23 ± 1 ppm, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) at 5.8 ± 0.18 %, and nitrogen oxides (NO x ) at 275 ± 6 ppm when compared to pure fossil diesel. These findings indicate that the recommended biodiesel blend is a viable option for use in CI engines, providing a sustainable and environmentally friendly energy solution for future applications.
Aruna et al. (Fri,) studied this question.