Abstract:
The objectives of this research were 1) to study the properties of biodiesel from Sterculia seed oil, 2) to study the engine performance on a small single cylinder diesel engine using biodiesel from Sterculia seed oil and 3) to study the emissions on a small single cylinder diesel engine using biodiesel from Sterculia seed oil as fuel. For the research methodology, the Sterculia biodiesel was produced from the Sterculia seed oil by using the transesterification process. Consequently, the biodiesel (B100) was blended with diesel to produce B10 and B20. The Biodiesel B100, B10 and B20 were tested to compare the engine performance and emissions test with diesel. For the engine test, a small diesel engine YANMAR TF 90 DI-L was tested at the engine speed of 1,200 rpm to 2,450 rpm at the full load condition to study the engine performance about engine torque, engine power, brake specific fuel consumption and thermal efficiency while the emissions from the exhaust gas such as nitrogen oxide (NOx), hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) were measured during engine test as well.
The results showed that the engine torque, engine power and brake specific fuel consumption of the engine using biodiesel from Sterculia seed oil 100% (B100) was higher than diesel, B10 and B20 while the thermal efficiency of the engine using diesel was higher than B100, B10 and B20. For the emissions, the exhaust gas of the engine using biodiesel from Sterculia seed oil B100, B10 and B20 contained higher amount of NOx than diesel but the amount of CO and HC was lower than diesel