Potential of Diethyl Ether as a Blended Supplementary Oxygenated Fuel with Biodiesel to Improve Combustion and Emission Characteristics of Diesel Engines

Abstract

<div class="htmlview paragraph">In this research, the potential of Diethyl ether (DEE) which is a renewable bio-based fuel has been identified as a supplementary oxygenated additive to improve fuel properties and combustion characteristics of biodiesel (Karanja oil methyl ester - KOME) like its high viscosity, cold starting problems and a high level of NO<sub>x</sub> emissions through an experimental investigation. The tests were conducted on a single cylinder DI diesel engine fueled with neat KOME as a base fuel and blends of 5, 10, 15 and 20% DEE on a volume basis.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Some physicochemical properties of test fuels such as heating value, viscosity, specific gravity and distillation profile were determined in accordance to the ASTM standards.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">The results obtained from the engine tests have shown a significant reduction in NO<sub>x</sub> emissions especially for DEE addition of more than 10% on a volume basis and a little decrease in smoke of DEE blends compared with neat KOME. A global overview of the results has shown that the 15% DEE-KOME blend is the most effective combination based on performance and emission characteristics.</div>