Influence of Various Flow Rates of CNG in CI Engine with Blend of Tamanu Methyl Ether and Ethanol

Abstract

The petroleum fuels are continuously depleted, and they are a non-renewable source of the energy. Continuous usage of them leads to depletion of resource and an increase in global warming. Due to higher norms imposed on the fuel quality, the refining cost gets higher, and hence, obviously, the cost of the petroleum products would be higher. This leads to the search for alternate energy sources. The wide usage of CNG in the petrol engine is a common practice in the automobile sector, but the combined usage of CNG in dual fuel condition with the blend of ethanol and TME has not been practiced yet. The fuels used for this research are diesel, neat Tamanu biodiesel, blend of 10% ethanol with 90% Tamanu Methyl Ether (TMEE10) and CNG. Due to the higher compression ratio of CI engine, the usage of CNG in it will produce higher brake thermal efficiency. Due to the higher-octane rating of CNG, it wouldn’t be used as fuel in CI engine. If CNG is used as a fuel in CI engine, it leads to higher knock and vibrations. Hence, it is difficult to operate the engine, but an energy share of CNG can be used in a CI engine. In this research, CNG is inducted into the engine. The flow rate is varied, such as 0.015 kg/hr., 0.026 kg/hr., 0.035 kg/hr. and 0.046 kg/hr., while the blend of biodiesel and ethanol is injected directly into the combustion chamber. Since the calorific value of TME and ethanol is less when compared to diesel, CNG is inducted to enrich the overall energy mix of the fuel. Based on the experimental investigation, it is found that the combination of TMEE10 and CNG flow rate of 0.035 kg/hr. produces higher performance and better emission characteristics.