International Journal of Applied Engineering Research, ISSN 0973-4562 Vol. 10 No.
28 (2015)
© Research India Publications; http://www.ripublication.com/ijaer.htm
Effect of oxygenated additives on the characteristics
of a diesel engine
K.Singaravelana,
a
Department of Automobile Engineering, Kalasalingam
University, Virudhunagar Dt, Tamilnadu, India.
E-mail: ksingaravelan50@gmail.com
Abstract — In the current scenario, the emission norms are
becoming more stringent as the emissions from diesel engine will
have a harmful effect on the atmosphere. The major focus of
today’s engine emission control technologies is to eliminate NO X-
smoke trade off which could be achieved by adding certain
additives with the base fuel. In view of this, we have selected an
aromatic oxygenated additive, o-cresol, and blend it with diesel in
various percentages such as 5%, 10% and 15%. With the
addition of o-cresol the fuel properties were noted to be improved
and it is suitability for engine operation is confirmed. All the
prepared blends were tested in a single cylinder diesel engine and
the engine characteristics were evaluated. From the experimental
results, blend fuel with additive showed a marginal increase in
engine performance when compared with diesel. Likewise,
exhaust emissions for the blend fuel with additive decreased with
the increase in additive percentage. Correspondingly, for 15% o-
cresol addition, HC, NOX and smoke emission were reduced by
25%, 28.7% and 55.5%, respectively, at full load condition.
Index Terms — Cresol, additives, diesel engine, combustion,
emission.
I. INTRODUCTION
In today’s world scenario, the demand for energy is
increasing, specifically the demand for hydrocarbon fuels. For
instance, world energy consumption is expected to increase to
180,000 GWh/year by 2020 [1]. Now-a-days, diesel engines
are widely used due to its higher efficiency and cost
effectiveness. Diesel engines are used in numerous applications
like truck, passenger vehicles, engines in agricultural sectors,
marine applications, etc. Worldwide it is accepted that diesel
fuel provides high combustion efficiency, reliability and
adaptability.
Even though diesel had much more advantages,
pollutant emissions are a major drawback. Emissions from
diesel engine seriously threaten the environment and are
considered as one of the chief sources of air pollution [2].
There were increasing concerns about combustion related
pollutants such as carbon monoxide, particulate matter, oxides
of nitrogen and unburned hydrocarbons [3]. This has led to the
execution of stringent emission norms by environmental
protection agencies which have been followed by major
countries. The emissions must be controlled as demanded by
the society without sacrificing the legendary fuel economy of
the diesel engines.
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A.K.Dhivakara, M.Sivanantha, S.Vedharaja,
K.Arun Balasubramanianb
a
Department of Automobile Engineering, Kalasalingam
University. bDepartment of Mechanical Engineering,
SethuInsitute of Technology, Madurai..
In order to rectify both these energy and
environmental problems, researchers around the world have
started using renewable energy technologies. Many researchers
contemplated the use of alternative fuels in a diesel engine and
biodiesel have received much attention as they are renewable,
nontoxic, and biodegradable. Using these fuels directly in a
diesel engine without any modification has reduced the
gaseous emissions such as HC (hydrocarbon), CO (carbon
monoxide) and smoke [2]. Few researchers have also attempted
to alter the fuel properties by adding essential fuel additives.
The added additive enhances the chemical reaction to attain
better engine performance. There are different types of
additives available for diesel engine application [4]. Among
them, oxygenated additives have been explored a lot.
Oxygenated additives like diethyl ether, dimethyl ether and
carbonates have the tendency to promote fuel oxidation process
with the inherent presence of oxygen in it. Nowadays, contrary
to regular additives, metallic fuel additives have also been
considered to improve the performance and emission
characteristics of a diesel engine [5].
The comprehensive literature review on additives
manifests that simultaneous reduction of NOX and smoke as a
critical issue with diesel engines. Therefore, in the current
study, o-cresol has been selected as a fuel additive to be
blended with diesel. Blend of o-cresol with diesel in various
proportion such us 5%, 10%, and 15% were prepared and
tested in a single cylinder diesel engine. The engine results are
presented in the below section.
II. CRESOL AS AN ADDITIVE
Cresols are organic compounds which are methyl
phenols. O-cresol is produced by the reaction of phenol and
methanol and the reaction is shown below.
C6H5OH + CH3OH → CH3C6H4OH + H2O
It is light yellow in color, toxic and less expensive.
Depending on the temperature, cresols can
be solid or liquid because they have melting points not far from
room temperature. Like other types of phenols, they are
slowly oxidized by long exposure to air and the impurities
often give cresols a yellowish to brownish red tint. The
structure of O-cresol is shown in figure 1
 International Journal of Applied Engineering Research, ISSN 0973-4562 Vol. 10 No.28 (2015)
© Research India Publications; http://www.ripublication.com/ijaer.htm
operating and design conditions were held constant and with
regards to fuel injection timing, only static injection timing was
considered. The fuel consumption measured manually on
volumetric basis using a burette and stop watch.

Table-1 Engine specification

Type four stroke single
cylinder Kirloskar AV1
engine
No of cylinder one
Stroke 110mm
Figure 1: Structure of o-cresol Bore 80mm
Rated power 3.7kw
In the current work, O-cresol was blended with diesel Rated speed 1500rpm
in various proportion of 5%, 10% and 15%. It is easy to blend Compression ratio 17.5:1
with diesel and no separation was observed. We used a Injection timing 270BTDC
magnetic stirrer apparatus to blend cresol with of diesel so that Injection pressure 190bar
a thorough mixing is carried out. Ratios of brake dram 162mm
Diameter of orifice 20mm
Orifice constant 0.6
III. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
The engine being used for current study is Kirloskar Exhaust emissions such as HC, CO, NOX, and O2
AV1 four stroke single cylinder water cooled engine as shown were measured using an AVL 444 di gas analyzer. HC and
in figure 2, which is mainly used in agriculture and industrial NOX emissions were measured in ppm (parts per million), and
application. The constant speed engine develops a maximum CO and O2 emissions were measured in terms of percentage
power of 3.7kW at 1500rpm and maintains a constant air flow volume. Smoke level was measured in HSU (hartridge smoke
rate. The load applied to this naturally aspirated engine is unit) using a standard AVL437C smoke meter.
varied by adding weight to the brake dram and the load applied
is varied from 25% to 100%. The other technical specifications The engine is made to run with diesel for 30min to
are listed down in Table 1. During the engine testing, the attain the steady state condition during this period. The engine

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 International Journal of Applied Engineering Research, ISSN 0973-4562 Vol. 10 No.28 (2015)
© Research India Publications; http://www.ripublication.com/ijaer.htm
warms up and this is being ensured by the engine coolant and
lubricating oil temperature. Once the engine is set to operating
condition all the fuels are tested at different loading conditions.

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Engine performance were evaluated in terms of brake
power, brake thermal efficiency and brake specific fuel
consumption for the various blend fuels. The mass of fuel
consumed per kilowatt of energy produced is termed as brake
specific fuel consumption (BSFC). The BSFC for the blends
with and without additive was calculated from total fuel
consumption and has been shown in figure 3. BSFC was Figure 5. The effect of adding o-cresol with diesel on HC
slightly reduced when using diesel fuel with additives at all
load except full load. The oxygenated additive has excess amount of
oxygen to help reduce the exhaust level of engine. Similarly,
NOX and smoke were reduced simultaneously compared to
diesel when using blended fuel. The difference in NOX and
smoke emission is seen from figure 6 and 7 The NOX and
smoke emission were reduced by 28.7% and 55.5%
respectively, compared with diesel.

Figure 3. The effect of adding o-cresol with diesel on BSFC

The brake thermal efficiency of the engine for blends

with and without additive at respective loading condition has
been showed on figure 4. As noted from the figure, the BTE Figure 6. The effect of adding o-cresol with diesel on Smoke
was increasing for various percentage of additive blends

Figure 4. The effect of adding o-cresol with diesel on BTE Figure 7. The effect of adding o-cresol with diesel on NOX

The emissions were measured from the output of

engine exhaust. After combustion the left out fuel and burnt
gas comes out to the exhaust. The HC emission for with and
without additive was showed in figure 5. After the combustion
unburnt fuels comes out from the engine as HC. Using blended
fuel HC emission is reduced by 25% compared to diesel.
V. CONCLUSION
Simultaneous reduction of NOX and smoke has been achieved
by blending o-cresol with diesel fuel. Prepared blends showed
no visible separation and it easily mixed with diesel fuel. From
the experimental study in a diesel engine following results
were observed

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 International Journal of Applied Engineering Research, ISSN 0973-4562 Vol. 10 No.28 (2015)
© Research India Publications; http://www.ripublication.com/ijaer.htm
The blended fuel showed slight improvement in
engine performance

The emissions such as NOX, HC and smoke were

reduced.

The additive reduced the exhaust emissions and helps in

making the environment greener.

VI. REFERENCE
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and jatropha biodiesel blends in the context of performance and
emissions characteristics of a light-duty diesel engine." Energy
Conversion and Management 83 (2014): 149-158.

[2] Ribeiro, Núbia M., et al. "The role of additives for diesel
and diesel blended (ethanol or biodiesel) fuels: a review."
Energy & Fuels 21.4 (2007): 2433-2445.

[3] Vallinayagam, R., et al. "Impact of ignition promoting

additives on the characteristics of a diesel engine powered by
pine oil–diesel blend." Fuel 117 (2014): 278-285.

[4] Vedharaj, S., et al. "Effect of adding 1, 4-Dioxane with

kapok biodiesel on the characteristics of a diesel engine."
Applied Energy 136 (2014): 1166-1173.

[5] Kannan, G. R., R. Karvembu, and R. Anand. "Effect of

metal based additive on performance emission and combustion
characteristics of diesel engine fuelled with biodiesel." Applied
Energy 88.11 (2011): 3694-3703.

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