Prospects of adding peanut and palm oils to diesel fuel for tractor engines

Increased environmental requirements for tractor diesel engines and rising prices for petroleum fuels urge the search for alternative fuels to replace traditional ones, partially or completely. Peanut and palm oils are the most competitive and affordable solutions. The authors conducted the study to assess the possibility of using peanut and palm oils as additives to diesel fuel in tractor engines. Experimental studies were conducted on a D-120 air-cooled tractor engine using mixed fuels with a composition, the physicochemical properties of which were similar to the base diesel fuel. In the first series of experiments, the mixed fuel contained 40% peanut oil, 30% diesel fuel, and 30% kerosene by volume. In the second series of experiments, diesel fuel was mixed with 10 and 20% palm oil. The authors analyzed the effect of oils on fuel consumption, specific effective fuel consumption, and the concentration of toxic components in exhaust gases using pure diesel fuel as a standard. It has been experimentally established that the addition of 40% peanut oil leads to an increase in fuel consumption of 8 to 10% and the concentration of incomplete combustion products (hydrocarbons increases by 25 to 32%, CO – in 1.55 times). The concentration of nitrogen oxides and soot decreases by 10 to 25% depending on the mode. With the addition of 10% palm oil, fuel consumption increases by 0.1 to 0.2 kg/h, with 20% – by 0.2 to 0.3 kg/h. At low and medium loads, a 20% oil addition led to a decrease in the hydrocarbon content of 42% and an increase in CO of 37 to 49%. At high loads, the content of hydrocarbons decreased by 17% and nitrogen oxides by 21% (4550 ppm), the concentration of CO increased in 6-8 times (up to 65 ppm). The soot content in exhaust gases with a 10% additive is reduced by 20 to 30%, with 20% – by 35 to 45%. The study proved that fuel additives – peanut and palm oils – can be used in a diesel engine, but it is necessary to adjust the viscosity and ignition delay period of the fuel.

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