Experimental Investigations on a Pongamia Oil Methyl Ester Fuelled Diesel Engine 2004-28-0018

The methyl ester of pongamia oil, known as biodiesel, is receiving increasing attention as an alternative fuel for diesel engines. Transesterification is the process of using an alcohol, ethanol or methanol, in the presence of a catalyst, such as sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide, to chemically break the molecule of the oil or fat into an ester and glycerol. Biodiesel is a nontoxic, biodegradable and renewable fuel with the potential to reduce engine exhaust emissions. In the present investigation the blends of varying proportions of pongamia oil Methyl Ester (PME) and diesel were used to run a single cylinder CI engine and significant improvements in engine performance and emission characteristics were observed. The addition of pongamia methyl ester (PME) to diesel fuel has significantly reduced HC, CO and smoke emissions but it increases the NO_X emission slightly.