Performance and emission characteristics of diesel engine using high-viscous vegetable oil

High-viscous vegetable oil of non-edible type was used in diesel engine to test the performance and emissions. Viscosity was reduced by ethanol blending. A single cylinder four stroke DI diesel engine was employed for testing. The blends used were 90% oil with 10% ethanol (E-10), 80% oil with 20% ethanol (E-20), 70% oil with 30% ethanol (E-30), 60% oil with 40% ethanol (E-40), and 50% oil with 50% ethanol (E-50) on v–v basis. The test results of high-viscous vegetable oil-ethanol blends at full load showed 16% lower brake thermal efficiency (BTE), 33.5% higher brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), 5.8% lower exhaust gas temperature (EGT), 1.1% higher carbon monoxide (CO), 68% higher hydro-carbon (HC), 45% lower nitrogen oxide (NO x ), and 28% higher smoke when compared to diesel operation. E-40 blend had maximum BTE (28.7%) among all blends. However, the blend E-50 resulted in maximum BSFC, HC and NO x emissions and minimum EGT, CO and smoke values at full load condition.