Comparative studies on emission reduction in thermal barrier coated engine using single blend ratio of various non-edible oils

An increase in energy consumption, fluctuation in oil prices, depletion of fossil fuels, demolition of natural resources and need for less carbon content in fuel induces the way to find an alternative fuel. Biodiesel is the most promising and environment-friendly alternative to the conventional fuel. This paper presents the comparative studies of various non-edible oils in single cylinder, four-stroke diesel engine with eddy current dynamometer. In the present study, cashewnut shell liquid methyl ester, orange methyl ester and neem oil methyl ester were obtained from its respective non-edible oils via transesterification process. Diesel engine was coated with partially stabilized zirconia (PSZ) as thermal barrier coating. Biodiesel samples were blended with diesel in 20:80 ratios. In this work, the following engine characteristics such as brake thermal efficiency (BTE), brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC), CO, HC, NOx, smoke emissions for both coated and uncoated engine conditions were measured. From the experimentation, it was concluded that orange methyl ester with diesel and neem oil methyl ester with diesel when used as an alternative to the conventional fuel showed higher BTE, lower BSFC along with lower emissions of CO, HC, NOx, and smoke in engine coated with PSZ. This substantiates the dual benefits of PSZ coating with the new alternative fuels on emission reduction.