EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS ON THE EFFECT OF HYDROGEN INDUCTION ON PERFORMANCE AND EMISSION BEHAVIOUR OF A SINGLE CYLINDER DIESEL ENGINE FUELLED WITH PALM OIL METHYL ESTER AND ITS BLEND WITH DIESEL

Abstract

Internal combustion engines are an integral part of our daily lives, especially in the agricultural and transportation sector. With depleting fossil fuel and increasing environmental pollution, the researchers are foraying into alternate sources for fuelling the internal combustion engine. Vegetable oils derived from plant seeds is one such solution, but using them in unmodified diesel engine leads to reduced thermal efficiency and increased smoke emissions. Hydrogen if induced in small quantities in the air intake manifold can enhance the engine performance running on biodiesel. In this work, experiments were performed to evaluate the engine performance when hydrogen was inducted in small quantities and blends of esterified palm oil and diesel was injected as pilot fuel in the conventional manner. Tests were performed on a single cylinder, 4 - stroke, water cooled, direct injection diesel engine running at constant speed of 1500 rpm under variable load conditions and varying hydrogen flow. At full load for 75D25POME (a blend of 75% diesel and 25% palm oil methyl ester by volume), the results indicated an increase in brake thermal efficiency from 29.75% with zero hydrogen flow to a maximum of 30.17% at 5lpm hydrogen flow rate. HC emission reduced from 34 to 31.5 ppm, by volume at maximum load. Whereas, CO emission reduced from 0.09 to 0.045 % by volume at maximum load. Due to higher combustion rates with hydrogen induction, NOx emission increased from 756 to 926 ppm, at maximum load.

Keywords

• CI engine
• Dual fuel
• Hydrogen
• Palm oil
• Palm oil methyl ester.