Comparison of research data of diesel–biodiesel–isopropanol and diesel–rapeseed oil–isopropanol fuel blends mixed at different proportions on a CI engine

Abstract

Depletion in the levels of fossil fuels and increasing environmental concerns associated with the rise in consumption of conventional fuels are among the top global concerns. Finding an alternative sustainable fuel that matches the performance characteristics of diesel/petrol fuels as well as decreases the exhaust emissions has been a challenging task. After deliberate research, it is found that every alternative fuel is associated with different problems when they are used independently, thereby limiting its benefits. Scientists suggest that using different fuel blends might lead to sustainability. This article is the analysis of data obtained from the experimentation based on two different alternative fuels, Rapeseed Methyl Ester (RME)-based biodiesel and Rapeseed Oil (RO), blended with diesel (D) and Isopropanol (P) into three different proportions each. Tests were carried out in a compression ignition (CI) engine, and comparisons are based on the resulted performance and exhaust emission characteristics. The two different alternative fuels are blended into the following proportions to make six fuel mixtures, D50RME30P20, D50RME40P10, D50RME45P5, D50RO30P20, D50RO40P10 and D50RO45P5. The tests are carried out at different loads (BMEP) and are compared to that of pure diesel. Using the experimentation results, we also obtained the combustion characteristics of all fuel mixtures for further evaluation.