Experimental investigation of use of canola oil as a diesel fuel


Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Mühendislik Fakültesi, Makina Mühendisliği Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2008

Öğrenci: ALİ ÖZDEMİR

Danışman: AHMET YOZGATLIGİL

Özet:

In this study, canola oil has been selected for the test on a diesel engine and its suitability as an alternative fuel has been examined. To decrease the high viscosity of canola oil, the effect of temperature on viscosity has been researched. Then the fuel delivery system has been modified to heat canola oil before injecting the oil into the combustion chamber. Also, ethanol has been tested as an additive by blending with canola oil. An experimental setup has been installed according to standards to carry out tests. The set up has been controlled with a computer to take measurements more precisely and to perform experiment automatically. Experimental investigations have been conducted on a four cylinder, direct injection diesel engine. Full load-variable speed tests have been conducted to evaluate engine performance parameters. In addition 13 mode ESC test cycle has been performed to determine the exhaust emissions. Engine performance and emissions characteristics of canola oil and canola-ethanol blend containing 30% ethanol have been compared with those of baseline diesel fuel. Experimental results show that engine performance decreased for canola oil. Addition of ethanol into canola oil has been noticed to improve performance a little with respect to pure canola oil. Although, maximum performance has been obtained with diesel fuel, minimum specifics energy cost is obtained with canola oil. It has been observed that hydrocarbon (HC) emissions decrease with canola oil, blending ethanol with canola oil increase HC emissions and maximum values are read for diesel fuel. Carbon monoxide (CO) emissions have been observed to be the highest for canola oil but blending ethanol has a decreasing effect on CO emissions. As for particulate matter (PM), use of canola oil has been seen to be more pollutant than diesel but adding ethanol in canola reduces PM emissions significantly.