Spray characteristics, engine performance and emissions analysis for Karanja biodiesel and its blends

From a comparison of the spray evolution of Karanja biodiesel 40% (v/v) blend (KB40) vis-a-vis baseline diesel, the spray shape revealed a narrower and deeper penetrating spray development process for KB40. However, at an ambient pressure of 4 MPa, which is considered to be similar to the cylinder pressure of a test engine, KB40 exhibited a spray evolution behavior (spray penetration and shape) closely resembling that of diesel. In the engine experiment, lower max torque, brake thermal efficiency (BTE) and exhaust gas temperature, in addition to higher brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC) were observed for biodiesel blend compared to diesel due to lower heating value of Karanja biodiesel.