Experimental studies for the thermo-physiochemical properties of Biodiesel and its blends and the performance of such fuels in a Compression Ignition Engine

Using D100, B100 and 3 blends, mainly B25, B50 and B75 in a Diesel (CIE), the results showed that D100 releases higher rate of energy as expected compared to B100 and its blends. However the results showed that the blends burn more efficiently in the CIE used with the blend B75 producing the best engine efficiency and reasonably low fuel consumption. The emission data showed that the B100 and its blends produce less unburned hydrocarbon, CO,CO2 and NOx emission compared to D100. The better thermal and emission performance of the blends is most likely due to their balanced chemical composition as revealed by the FTIR spectra. The current work also indicates that blended fuels with higher ratio of B100 are recommended to use in CIEs to ensure efficient combustion.