Experimental Investigation and Operating Characteristics of LHR Engine using Pongamia Pinnata and Azadirachta indica Biodiesel Blend with Industrial Waste Additive

The huge energy demand and environmental anxiety have focused the interest on alternative fuels to the diesel engine. This suggested the worldwide search for renewable, less pollutant and agricultural-based alternative fuel. Also, attention is given to increasing the efficiency of a conventional diesel engine when running on alternative fuels. Non-edible oil derived from Pongamia pinnata (Karanja) and Azadirachta indica (Neem) seed oil blends as an alternative fuel have been considered for this study. Using Copper oxide (5% w/w), the two oils were transesterified for 6 hours at a temperature of 75 °C and a methanol to oil ratio of 20:1. The biodiesel samples that were produced underwent FT-IR, 1H-NMR, and GC-MS analysis. The results indicated that the FAME conversion for the biodiesel derived from Azadirachta indica and Pongamia pinnata was 99.19% and 97.93%, respectively. Diesel engine combustion components, viz., the piston crown and liner, were coated with Aluminium titanate thermal barrier material. The objective of this study is to replace 10% of diesel fuel by volume with the direct blending of esterified vegetable oils in diesel engine operation. The decrease in engine performance due to blending could be improved by the concept of low heat rejection. The single-cylinder coated engine characteristics were examined for diesel-biofuel blends, and these results were compared to those of conventional diesel engine fuel operations. The studies study better performance and combustion for the coated engine than the conventional engine in both diesel and vegetable oil blends. A significant reduction in hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions was observed for both coated and uncoated engines, but NO emission was increased up to 9% for the coated engine.