Experimental Investigation of Ignition Delay of Bio-Diesel and Its Blends

In this work, the ignitjion delay of bio-diesel and its blends with diesel at atmospheric pressure and temperature 850⁰C has been studied. The results are compared to those for diesel oil. Specifically, the suspended fuel droplet is inserted into a hot combustion chamber containing atmospheric air at temperatures which varied from 625⁰ - 850⁰C. The fuel droplet is suspended on the fine silica fibre wire of diameter 550 micron. It is mounted on rod and inserted in the hot combustion chamber at atmospheric condition. The ignition of the droplet is observed by optical circuit (optical sensor) and recorded by CRO. The ignition time is determined for calculating ignition delay.

The results are plotted on the ignition delay ln(t) - 1/Temperature, K^-1 coordinates to obtain the value of Activation Energy, E_A. It has been found that the value of Activation Energy, E_A is 44.3kJ for bio-diesel and 53.4kJ for diesel. The quantity of diesel increases the activation energy values from 45.3 kJ (10% Diesel) to 52.9 kJ (90% Diesel) in blends of diesel and bio-diesel.