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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Dawson, Georgia » National Peanut Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #284367
Title: Evaluation of peanut fatty acid methyl ester sprays, combustion, and emissions, for use in an indirect injection diesel engine

Author
item SOLOIU, VALENTIN - Georgia Southern University
item WEAVER, JABEOUS - Georgia Southern University
item OCHIENG, HENRY - Georgia Southern University
item VLCEK, BRIAN - Georgia Southern University
item Butts, Christopher - Chris
item JANSONS, MARCIS - Wayne State University

Submitted to: Energy and Fuels
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/15/2013
Publication Date: 4/26/2013
Citation: Soloiu, V., Weaver, J., Ochieng, H., Vlcek, B., Butts, C.L., Jansons, M. 2013. Evaluation of peanut fatty acid methyl ester sprays, combustion, and emissions, for use in an indirect injection diesel engine. Energy and Fuels. 27:2608-2618. doi: 10.1021/ef302069d.

Interpretive Summary: The paper compares of peanut biodiesel combustion, emissions, and performance characteristics to that of ultra-low sulfur diesel No. 2 (ULSD#2) in a three-cylinder indirect injection diesel engine. Tests were conducted at various speeds using peanut biodiesel blended with ULSD32 in mixtures ranging from 20 to 50% biodiesel. The maximum in-cylinder instantaneous gas combustion temperature reached about 2100K. Using a 50% biodiesel blend resulted in an average 7% increase in fuel consumption when compared to ULSD#2. Emissions of NOx and soot when using the peanut biodiesel was similar to that measured when using ULSD#2. These combustion analyses demonstrated that the indirect injection diesel engine tolerated peanut biodiesel blends up to 50% and would be a suitable engine for auxiliary power units.

Technical Abstract: The paper provides an analysis of 100% peanut fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) and peanut FAME/ULSD#2 blends (P20, P35, and P50) in an indirect injection (IDI) diesel engine (for auxiliary power unit applications) in comparison to ultralow sulfur diesel no. 2 (ULSD#2) at various speeds and 100% load. From the fuel thermal and physical properties, it was determined that up to 50% peanut FAMEs blended with ULSD#2 (P50) would meet the ASTM D6751 fuel standard for viscosity. The ignition delay was in the range of 1 ms, and the apparent heat release presented similar values for all investigated fuels. The maximum cylinder instantaneous gas combustion temperature reached about 2100 K while the total heat flux was 1.95 MW/m2, and it was found that there was a 7% average increase in brake specific fuel consumption for P50 over ULSD#2. The mechanical efficiency for ULSD#2 and all of the tested FAMEs was around 77%, with 10% loss in overall engine efficiency for FAMEs compared with ULSD#2. Nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions of the FAMEs, with an average value of 1.8 g/kWh and soot values with an average value of 0.15 g/kWh displayed very similar results with that of ULSD#2. Combustion analysis demonstrated the high tolerance of the IDI engine to various peanut FAME blends with results being similar to ULSD#2 and proved the suitability of this combination of fuel-engine for auxiliary power unit applications.