Investigation of biodiesel and its blends fueled diesel engine: An evaluation of the comprehensive performance of diesel engines

Abstract

The carbon-neutral era and the increasing demand for energy worldwide are imperative for researching alternative energy. At the same time, biodiesel is considered one of the most prospective alternative energy due to its renewable nature and similar properties to diesel. A comparative study of the effects of different proportions of biodiesel-diesel blends (BD10, BD20, BD40, BD60, BD100) on emissions, vibration, lubricant ferrography, and tribological performance of cylinder liner-piston ring (CL-PR) of a direct injection diesel engine (ZS195) was carried out with a baseline of petroleum diesel. The results of the study demonstrated that the appropriate proportion (less than 20 %) of biodiesel significantly improves the comprehensive performance of diesel engines, primarily by combustion optimization and vibration shock reduction. The BD20 fuel blend achieves the best comprehensive diesel engine performance. The higher percentage of biodiesel results in enhanced vibration and severe degradation of CL-PR performance caused by the dilution of the lubricant and erosion of the components by the biodiesel. The study illuminates the mechanism and intrinsic connection of the effects of biodiesel on diesel engine performance. These results will facilitate the understanding of the effects of biodiesel-diesel blends on diesel engine performance and contribute to carbon neutrality in the transportation sector.