Comparison and Feasibility Study of Hexanol/Diesel/Pongamia Biodiesel Blend on Engine Characteristics of a Common Rail Direct Injection Diesel Engine

In this work, the impact of hexanol/diesel/biodiesel blend on engine characteristics of a common rail direct injection (CRDI) diesel engine was studied. Biodiesel is more viscous in nature and higher cetane count, hexanol has a lower viscosity and cetane count. The drawbacks of both biodiesel and hexanol can be overcome by blending both hexanol and biodiesel with diesel fuel in the right proportion. Tests were carried out using a 4-stroke CRDI engine with two cylinders. Biodiesel and 1-hexanol were blended in a ratio of 10% each by volume with diesel and compared with B10D90 and B20D80 blends. It was noted that the addition of hexanol enhances the combustion characteristics of the engine. At 20% load H10B10D80 showed71.34 bar which is highest compared to other fuels in the test. The blends had a positive effect on emissions, there was drastic reduction in NOx was noticed, also HC and CO emission was lower than diesel emissions. The lowest CO, and HC emission is obtained for H10B10D80, which is 66%, 92% lower at 60% load compared to baseline readings. However, the blend had a slight negative effect on performance in contrast to diesel. The higher latent heat of vaporization of hexanol led to low temperature combustion contributing to the lowest NOx emissions. The combination of both hexanol and Pongamia biodiesel with diesel showed an effective reduction in greenhouse gases. Which will also reduce the dependency on fossil fuels. The lower carbon content of 1-hexanol contributes towards carbon neutrality. Overall, the hexanol and biodiesel are sustainable alternatives to the diesel fuel.