Performance Evaluation of Rubber Seed Oil Blends with Isopropyl Alcohol in VCR Diesel Engine

Abstract

Depleting reserves of petroleum fuels has forced the researchers to find alternate fuels in order to meet energy demands of vehicles and industry. Methyl esters of vegetable oils have been used as a fuel in CI engines. In this paper, the performance evaluation of rubber seed oil (RSO) blends with and without isopropyl alcohol as an additive on a variable compression ratio (VCR) engine is investigated. The emission, combustion and performance characteristics of B10, B20 and B30 blends and rubber seed oil were analysed and compared with diesel for different compression ratios 12:1, 16:1 and 20:1. Same blends were experimented by adding isopropyl alcohol 5 % by volume. The results of brake thermal efficiency (BTE), brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) and emissions indicated that B10 and B20 with and without additive have better results than diesel and rubber seed oil. The blend B30 gives better results than diesel only when Isopropyl alcohol is added. The addition of isopropyl alcohol with blends yields better results than diesel due to oxygen enrichment. Averaged cylinder pressure, heat release rate under varying compression ratios were also analysed.