Evaluation of Performance Parameters and Emissions of a Diesel Engine Fueled with Preheated Palm Oil Mill Effluent Biodiesel Blends

Abstract

The current research analyzes the effect of fuel preheating on performance parameters and emission characteristics in a stationary diesel engine fuelled with palm oil mill effluent biodiesel blends. The investigation has been carried out on an experimental test bench under four-engine load conditions. The fuel injection temperature range is set between 35-75 °C. From the results obtained, it has been possible to demonstrate that the preheating process allows the reduction of fuel consumption and an increase in the efficiency of the engine powered with POME 5 and POME 10 blends. The preheating process has the potential to reduce by 14 % BSFC and increase by 17% the BTE of the engine. Additionally, the results have showed a reduction potential of 17.2%, 16.5%, and 15.6% in CO2, HC, and smoke opacity emissions when preheating processes are used in POME biodiesel blends. In general, this type of strategy is a promising solution to incentivize the use of biodiesel blends from palm oil mill effluent.