Combustion Characteristics of a DI Diesel Engine with Tung Oil Methyl Ester

In order to utilize tung oil as an alternative diesel fuel, the combustion characteristics and exhaust emissions of tung oil methyl ester (TME) were investigated by using a single cylinder DI diesel engine. Also the comparisons were carried out on combustion characteristics and exhaust emissions of TME with rapeseed oil methyl ester (RME) and JIS No.2 diesel fuel (gas oil). From the experimental results, the stable engine operation was achieved by fuelling TME as those of RME and the gas oil. The thermal efficiency of TME is almost the same as that of the gas oil. TME has longer ignition delay compared to the other test fuels due to the lower ignition ability. The pour point of TME is -7.5°C and that is the same as that of RME. The exhaust emissions (HC, CO, NOx and smoke) of TME are higher than those of RME and the gas oil. From the experimental results, it is necessary to improve the fuel properties of TME for better diesel combustion.