Evaluation of ethanol-diesel blends for potential fuel use in diesel engines

Abstract

The study examined the impact of ethanol-diesel blended fuel on engine performance, with a focus on biodiesel as a potential alternative fuel for vehicles. While biodiesels offer benefits such as lower fuel costs compared to non-blended fuels, technological challenges hinder their widespread adoption. One major concern is the corrosive wear associated with high blend ratios, which poses a significant risk to the fuel industry. This research aimed to identify a viable fuel for use in direct injection diesel engines by evaluating the effect of the blended fuel on parameters such as appearance, density, kinematic viscosity, corrosive wear, and energy content. Experimental procedures were employed to assess the fuel properties: appearance was evaluated visually, density was measured using a hydrometer, kinematic viscosity was determined with a viscometer, and energy content was measured through bomb calorimetry. Five fuel samples, each of 50 ml, were prepared for the experiments. These included a control sample of 100% diesel and four ethanol-diesel blends with ethanol concentrations of 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40%. In addition to the experimental tests, a numerical simulation of the performance of the prepared fuel blends was conducted using the ANSYS tool. The simulation assessed parameters such as power output, torque, water production, corrosive wear, and emissions, and the results were compared to the experimental findings. Across all experiments, the control sample of pure diesel was tested alongside the ethanol-diesel blends at varying ethanol. The study used various methods to assess the properties of ethanol-diesel blends. Appearance was evaluated visually, and all samples passed the observation test. Density was measured using a hydrometer, and it was found that density increased with higher ethanol content, supporting the use of ethanol blends. Kinematic viscosity, measured with a viscometer, initially increased with the ethanol percentage up to 28.6%, then decreased beyond that point. The experimental and simulation results were compared, revealing a slight reduction in calorific value, which led to minimal decreases in torque and power. However, the cost benefits of the fuel blend outweighed this reduction, and the copper corrosion test results (Class 1a, Pass) indicated negligible corrosive wear, supporting the fuel’s usability. Additionally, reduced emissions, confirmed through the simulation, demonstrated the potential for improved environmental sustainability, addressing the research gap regarding the viability of ethanoldiesel blend