International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

Effect of compression ratio on the performance

and emissions of a CI engine fueled with
Tamanu oil methyl ester and its blends
G. Antony Miraculas

N. Bose

Mechanical Engineering Department

Mepco Schlenk Engineering College
Sivakasi, India
bosevnr@gmail.com

Mechanical Engineering Department

St. Xaviers Catholic College of Engineering
Nagercoil, India
miraculas@gmail.com

the import of crude oil, which will reduce the emission

significantly. Biodiesel is oxygenated fuel and causes lesser
particulate formation and emission. Several experiments
performed on 4-stroke DI diesel engines with biodiesel
revealed that the dissolved oxygen atom present in the
molecules of fuel aids complete combustion hence reducing
pollutants.
Bettis et al. investigated the use of safflower, rapeseed, and
sunflower oils as alternate fuels [2]. They found that engine
performance was comparable to that of diesel fuel, but long
term sturdiness test revealed some difficulties due to
carbonization. It was witnessed that for rapeseed oil the power
output was less and increased with rising quantity of rapeseed
oil in the blend. Sapaun et al. [3] testified that for palm oil and
its diesel blend the power output was analogous with that of
diesel. Short time trials using palm oil exhibited any signs of
combustion chamber wear or contamination of lubricating oil
or intensification in carbon deposits.
Murayama et al. [4] testified that vegetable oils and
rapeseed oil biodiesel presented lower oxides of nitrogen and
smoke emissions. Desantes et al. [5] used rapeseed oil
biodiesel and its diesel blends in a single cylinder diesel engine
and they testified that a rise in inlet air temperature from
ambient, the carbon monoxide, NOx and smoke emissions
reduced significantly. Senthil Kumar et al. [6] also detected a
reduction in smoke, HC and CO emissions with the
introduction of hydrogen. But, the NOx emissions amplified
owing to greater combustion rates. Sahoo et al. [7] reported
that Polanga oil biodiesel showed lesser exhaust emission as
compared to diesel. The tamanu oil extracted from the seed by
screw pressing had free fatty acid value of 24 %. A two-step
esterification process with acid followed by a base catalyst was
employed for converting it into biodiesel. The calorific value
viscosity, and carbon residue of biodiesel was tested using
standard test procedures. It was concluded that the results were
within the limits of ASTM standards for biodiesel, which can
be conceivably used in the prevailing diesel engine as alternate
fuel without any alteration. The objective of the present
investigation is to use the transesterified biodiesel as fuel to run
a single cylinder, four stroke, constant speed, variable

Abstract Biofuels are renewable, nontoxic and ecofriendly

fuels that can play an importany role in automobile industries.
They can successfully replace diesel fuel and helps in decreasing
the import of crude oil. The discarded seed of Calophyllun
Inophyllum which are planted in India mainly to prevent soil
erosion is considered as the possible source for extracting
biodiesel. The tamanu oil extracted from the seed by screw
pressing had free fatty acid value of 24%, therefore a two stage
esterification processes with acid followed by base catalyst were
used for converting it into biodiesel. The fuel was tested for
properties such as viscosity, calorific value and carbon residue
using standard test procedures and found to be analogous with
diesel, which makes it conceivable to use this alternate fuel in the
existing engine without any modification. A single cylinder, four
stroke, constant speed, variable compression ratio, direct
injection diesel engine developing 5KW with provision for
computerized data acquisition is used to evaluate the
performance, emission and combustion characteristics. The test
results were analyzed for blends of bio-diesel in comparison with
standard diesel at different compression ratios (16:1, 18:1, 20:1 &
22:1). The performance and emission results of the diesel engine
revealed that biodiesel can be blended with diesel up to 40% at
an optimum CR of 20, in order to get improved performance and
reduced emission.
Index TermsCompression
Tamanu oil methyl ester.

Ratio,

Biodiesel,

Emission,

I. INTRODUCTION
The fossil fuel is declining at a faster rate due to its
indiscriminate mining and excessive consumption. There was a
series of price hikes by the petroleum export countries due to a
demand for fuel. The ever-increasing demand owing to the
growth in automobile population leads to an increase in the
cost of fuel. Adding to that vehicles now a days have to meet
the stringent emission norms. Use of various fossil fuels such
as petroleum products and coal leads to increase in CO2 levels
in atmosphere from 280PPM in pre-industrial era to 350PPM
now [1]. The greenhouse effect, acid rains, smog and world
climate change are the effect of these climbing CO2 levels.
These factors have made the researches to focus their attention
on alternative and eco- friendly fuels that would help to reduce

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International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

compression ratio, direct injection diesel engine and to evaluate

its performance, emission and combustion characteristics at full
load by varying the compression ratio.

higher than pure diesel. The presence of dissolved oxygen

atom in the molecules of biodiesel might have caused complete
combustion and hence higher efficiency as compared to that of
pure diesel. Based on these results it can be concluded that the
performance of the engine with biodiesel blends is comparable
to that with diesel, in terms of BTE. The BTE at full load was
found to be higher at a compression ratio of 20 for diesel and
most of its blend, whereas the BTE for compression ratios 16
and 18 were found to be lesser. When the compression ratio
was increased beyond 20 the BTE deteriorates slightly. This
might be due to unstable combustion or lesser mass flow rate
of injected fuel. Hence a compression ratio of 20 can be
considered as an optimum compression ratio for the present
engine.

II. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

The experimental set up consist of a computerized engine
test rig which includes a single cylinder, water cooled, four
stroke, variable compression ratio diesel engine which is
connected to an eddy current dynamometer for loading. The
stationary diesel engine had a bore of 87.5mm and stroke of
110mm. The photographic view of the experimental setup is
shown in Fig. 1. The rated power output of the engine is 5 KW
at 1600rpm with compression ratio varying from 16 to 22 and
nozzle opening pressure 215bar at 23 before top dead centre,
as set by the manufacturer. The engine was loaded by an eddy
current type dynamometer. Data acquisition systems interface
the signals from the transducers and computer for online
measurement of exhaust gas temperature, cooling water and
calorimeter water inlet and outlet temperature and load on the
engine.
The exhaust gases were examined using a portable multigas analyzer. A specifically intended arrangement was used for
diverting the exhaust gas to sampling line without increasing
the back pressure. QUNITOX portable flue gas analyzer
measures the levels of pollutant gases such as HC, CO, and
NOX. Smoke meters, also referred to as opacity meters, which
detect and measures the amount of light blocked in smoke
emitted by diesel engines. Smoke meter readout the smoke
density giving measure of the efficiency of combustion.

B. Brake specific fuel consumption

Experimental results at full load revealed that as the CR on
the engine was increased, BSFC decreases upto a CR of 20,
however there was a slight increase in BSFC at compression
ratio 22. Fig. 3 shows the effect of BSFC on different
compression ratios at full load condition for diesel and blends
of tamanu oil methyl ester. It can be observed that for all the
blends minimum fuel consumption is corresponding to the
compression ratio of 20. The probable reason for this drift
might be at higher compression ratio, the fuel will be injected
in hotter engine cylinder due to increased cylinder pressure,
which leads to higher power output thereby decreasing BSFC.
As illustrated in the Figures, the BSFC generally increases with
the increase in proportion of biodiesel in the fuel blend
compared to that of diesel. However at lower blend there is a
slight decrease in BSFC. This may be due to the presence of
dissolved oxygen in the blend that enables complete
combustion. Due to the lower concentration of biodiesel the
negative effects of increased viscosity would not have been
activated.
C. Smoke Opacitys
Smoke formation happens at extreme shortage of air locally
prevailing inside the engine cylinder. It increases as the air to
fuel ratio decreases. Fig. 4 shows the emission of smoke at full
load condition by varying the compression ratio of the engine
for diesel as well as biodiesel blends. Smoke emissions at full
load vary inversely with compression ratios, since at higher CR
the working pressure and temperature increases and henceforth
there is an increase in combustion efficiency. The smoke
opacity for biodiesel and its blend were found to be lower than
that of diesel at all the compression ratios. There is a
significant reduction in the smoke opacity with increase in
biodiesel concentration. The extra quantity of oxygen atom in
the biodiesel could be responsible for reduced smoke
emissions.

Fig. 1 Engine Experimental Setup

III. RESULT AND DISCUSSIONS
The results obtained from the experimental investigation
using B20, B40, B60, B100 & diesel as fuels at full load are
presented and discussed in this section. The results are also
compared with diesel fuel operation for different Compression
Ratios.

D. Oxides of Nitrogen emission

The most serious emissions from diesel engines are oxides
of nitrogen. The creation of NOx is extremely reliant on the in
cylinder temperature, concentration of oxygen and dwelling
period for the reaction to occur. Fig. 5 shows the effect of CR
on NOx emission for biodiesel, diesel and biodiesel blends. In

A. Brake thermal efficiency

It can be seen from Fig. 2 that the BTE of the diesel engine,
is reduced at higher concentration of biodiesel blends.
However, the brake thermal efficiency of B20 was somewhat

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International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

Fig. 2 Variation of BTE with CR

Fig. 3 Variation of BSFC with CR

Fig. 4 Variation of Smoke Opacity with CR

Fig. 5 Variation of NOx with CR

Fig. 6 Variation of CO with CR

Fig. 7 Variation of HC with CR

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International Conference on Recent Advances in Mechanical Engineering and Interdisciplinary Developments [ICRAMID - 2014]

general as the compression ratio increases the NOx emission is

also increased as the operating temperature is high. It was
evident that the NOx emission for diesel is lesser than that of
biodiesel and its blend. This may be due to the presence of
inbuilt oxygen atom in the molecular structure of biodiesel.

for lower blends. On the other hand the brake specific fuel
consumption decreases up to compression ratio 20, beyond that
there was a slight increase in BSFC. This increase in BSFC is
responsible for a slight dip in efficiency for diesel and biodiesel
blend. Carbon monoxide, smoke opacity and unburned hydro
carbon emissions for biodiesel and its blends where reduced
with increase in compression ratio for all biodiesel blends at
full load. But oxides of nitrogen emission for biodiesel were
found to be higher than that of diesel and it also increased with
increase in compression ratio. From the above study it was
concluded that the biodiesel can be blended with diesel up to
40% at an optimum CR of 20, in order to get improved
performance and reduced emission.

E. Carbon monoxide emission

Fig. 6 shows the variation of CO emission of biodiesel,
diesel and its blend with compression ratios. The CO emission
was found to be lower than that of diesel for biodiesel and its
blend at full load condition. CO is formed due to incomplete
combustion of fuel due to lack of oxygen or lower engine
speed. If burning of fuel is complete, carbon monoxide will be
transformed to CO2. However at higher compression ratio the
carbon monoxide percentage starts increasing progressively
owing to higher combustion chamber temperature, fuel/air
ratio, deficiency of oxygen at high speed and reduction in the
available time for complete combustion.

REFERENCES
[1] Joshi H C, Biodiesel from Jatropha an alternative fuel for the
future, Scientific Research Magazine, National Research
Development Corporation New Delhi, Issue - Sep.-Oct. (2003),
205-216
[2] S Bettis BL, Peterson CO, Auld DL, Driscoll DJ, Peterson ED.
Fuel characteristics of vegetable oil from oil seed crops in the
Pacific Northwest. Agronomy Journal 1982;74:3359.
[3] Sapaun SM, Masjuki HH, Azlan A. The use of palm oil as diesel
fuel substitute. Journal of Power and EnergyPart A
1996;210:4753.
[4] D Tadashi Murayama,Young-taig Oh, Noboru Miyamoto,
Takemi Chikahisa, Nobukazu Takagi, Koichiro Itow. Low
carbon flower buildup, low smoke and efficient diesel operation
with vegetable oils by conversion to monoesters and blending
with diesel oil or alcohols. SAE paper 841161.
[5] Arregle J, ruiz S, Desantes JM, Delage A. Characterization of
the injection combustion process in a D.I. Diesel engine running
with rape oil methyl ester. SAE paper 1999-01-1497.
[6] Senthil Kumar M, Ramesh A, Nagalingam B. Use of hydrogen
to enhance the performance of a vegetable oil fuelled
compression ignition engine. International Journal of Hydrogen
Energy 2003;28:114354.
[7] Sahoo PK, Das LM, Babu MKG, Naik SN. Biodiesel
development from high acid value polanga seed oil and
performance evaluation in a CI engine. Fuel 2007; 86:44854.

F. Hydrocarbon emission
Incompletely combustion is solely responsible for the
emission of unburned HC. Fig. 7 shows the effect of CR on
unburned HC emission. From the figure it can be seen that
higher compression ratios show lesser emissions. Hydro carbon
emissions were found to be lesser for biodiesel blends than that
of diesel. With an increase in biodiesel proportions in the diesel
there was a further reduction in HC emissions. The inherent
atoms of oxygen in the biodiesel may well be responsible for
this reduction. The working temperature rises at higher CR
which guarantees competent combustion, and hence reduced
HC emission for higher compression ratios.
IV. CONCLUSION
The result shows that the tamanu oil methyl ester can be
used in a diesel engine without any modification.
Experimental studies were performed on a single cylinder VCR
diesel engine to analyse the performance and emission
characteristics of biodiesel and its blend. The brake thermal
efficiency increases with compression ratio for biodiesel and its
blend, however there is a slight dip at a compression ratio of 22

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