Production of palm and jatropha based biodiesel and investigation of palm-jatropha combined blend properties, performance, exhaust emission and noise in an unmodified diesel engine

An ever increasing drift of energy consumption, unequal geographical distribution of natural wealth and the quest for low carbon fuel for a cleaner environment are sparking off the production and use of biodiesels in many countries around the globe. In this work, palm biodiesel and jatropha biodiesel were produced from the respective crude vegetable oils through transesterification, and the different physicochemical properties of the produced biodiesels have been presented, and found to be acceptable according to the ASTM standard of biodiesel specification. This paper presents experimental results of the research carried out to evaluate the BSFC, engine power, exhaust and noise emission characteristics of a combined palm and jatropha blend in a single-cylinder diesel engine at different engine speeds ranging from 1400 to 2200 rpm. Though the PBJB5 and PBJB10 biodiesels showed a slightly higher BSFC than diesel fuel, all the measured emission parameters and noise emission were significantly reduced, except for NO emission. CO emissions for PBJB5 and PBJB10 were 9.53% and 20.49% lower than for diesel fuel. By contrast, HC emissions for PBJB5 and PBJB10 were 3.69% and 7.81% lower than for diesel fuel. The sound levels produced by PBJB5 and PBJB10 were also reduced by 2.5% and 5% compared with diesel fuel due to their lubricity and damping characteristics.