Suitability Study of Biofuel Blend for Light Commercial Vehicle Application under Real-World Transient Operating Conditions

Driving schedule of every vehicle involves transient operation in the form of changing engine speed and load conditions, which are relatively unchanged during steady-state conditions. As well, the results from transient conditions are more likely to reflect the reality. So, the current research article is focused on analyzing the biofuel-like lemon peel oil (LPO) behavior under real-world transient conditions with fuel injection parameter MAP developed from steady-state experiments. At first, engine parameters and response MAPs are developed by using a response surface methodology (RSM)-based multi-objective optimization technique. Then, the vehicle model has been developed by incorporating real-world transient operating conditions. Finally, the developed injection parameters and response MAPs are embedded in the vehicle model to analyze the biofuel behavior under transient operating conditions. The results obtained for diesel-fueled light commercial vehicle (LCV) have shown better fuel economy than LPO biofuel with their developed fuel injection parameter MAP. The maximum BTE obtained was 29.7% for diesel and 29.5% for LPO at 2100 rpm and 20 Nm torque. The mean HC emissions were identified as 0.02046 g/km for diesel and 0.03488 g/km for LPO fuel over the modified Indian driving cycle (MIDC). Except for NOx emission, LPO biofuel exhibited diesel-like performance and emission characteristics under the MIDC.