Performance and emissions of compression ignition engines using waste cooked oil as fuel

Public and Government concern about environmental pollution and the high price of petroleum products have forced the development of alternative fuels for automotive applications. Biodiesel is one of the alternative fuels which can be produced from vegetable oils (either pure or waste) or animal fats. Since biodiesel has properties similar to diesel, it can be substituted for the latter with little or no engine modification. Also, its use can reduce the engine emissions. In this study, biodiesel is produced from waste vegetable oil using Fuel Pod 2™ system. The chemical catalists used were methanol and Sodium hydroxide. The production process yielded 87% biodiesel with the remaining being glycerin and soap. The biodiesel production cost was evaluated considering the chemical costs, running costs, waste oil collection costs, etc. The biodiesel price was found to be about 60 pence per litre which is nearly half of the petro-diesel price. A Ford Puma 2.4 litre diesel engine was used to investigate the effects of petro-diesel/biodiesel blends on the performance and emissions of the diesel engine. Petro-diesel and biodiesel (B100) fuels was tested in addition to three blends B10 (10% biodiesel and 90% petro-diesel), B15 and B20. The engine load varied as 25, 50, 75, and 100% full load. Also, the engine speed varied as 1500, 2200, 2600, 3000 and 3300 rpm. At these conditions, the engine torque, fuel consumption and emissions were measured. Accordingly, the performance parameters were evaluated such as engine power, specific fuel consumption and engine efficiency. The monitored exhaust emission included carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), total unburned hydrocarbons (THC), and nitric oxides (NOx).