A comparative study of Performance and Emission Characteristics of a CRDe SUV fueled with Biodiesel blends & Diesel fuel

The methyl esters of vegetable oils known as biodiesel, are receiving increasing interests because of their potential for low environmental impact as an alternative fuel to diesel vehicles. There is not much data collected on engine and vehicles using biodiesel from non-edible oils, particularly on new generation Common Rail Diesel Engines (CRDe).The present experimental study reports the performance and exhaust emissions of a CRDe engine using 10% & 20% (by vol.) blends of Jatropha and Karanja oil methyl ester (JCME & KOME) with conventional diesel fuel. To begin with studies were conducted on a SUV, powered by Euro III / BSIII optimized ECU controlled 2.6 l Common Rail Diesel engine (CRDe) configured with a diesel oxidation catcon and exhaust gas recirculation system. The impact of using biodiesel blends was studied in terms of cold startability, drivability, acceleration, max speed, gradeability, fuel economy and exhaust emissions. Compared to conventional diesel fuel, biodiesel operation shows lower emissions of CO, UBHC, PM and FAS but slightly higher NOx. The overall noise level of the vehicle was also touched upon during the studies.

The study was also extended to evaluate relative vehicle performance at high altitude and cold conditions. The highlights of this study are the performance evaluation at world's highest motorable pass.