Experimental Studies on a DI Diesel Engine Using Tire Pyrolysis Oil Diethyl Ether Blends

Many alternative fuels have been introduced in the fuel market in the recent years. But, still there is a lot of research work going on around the world in the conversion of waste substances into useful energy. Some of the researchers show a remarkable interest in using pyrolysis oil as an alternative fuel for diesel engines. Tire pyrolysis oil (TPO) from waste automobile tires has been found to be an energy source. It could be blended with diesel fuel and used as an alternative fuel for diesel engines. But, it cannot be used as the sole fuel in diesel engines due to its poor ignition quality. Diethyl ether (DEE) is a good ignition improver having a cetane number of more than 125. In the present investigation, two different blends of Tire pyrolysis oil and DEE (with addition of DEE at 0.5 and 1%) were used in a single cylinder four stroke water cooled direct injection diesel engine developing a rated power of 3.7 kW at 1500 rpm. The engine was able to run with 100% Tire pyrolysis oil with a maximum DEE addition of 1%. Results indicated that nitric oxide emission reduced by about 4% with an 8% increase in smoke emission at full load when the engine was fueled with TPO and 1% of DEE compared to that of diesel fuel operation. The brake thermal efficiency of the engine fueled with TPO-DEE blends was found to be lesser than that of diesel operation at full load. Brake specific energy consumption was also found to be higher with TPO DEE blends compared to that of diesel fuel operation. The results of the performance and emissions of the DI diesel engine are presented in this paper.