Abstract

Petroleum products resources are limited and their consumption rate is increasing very fast with technological development since the last two decades. The emissions from the usage of these petroleum products pollute the environment considerably. Jatropha oil is one of the renewable energy resources which are easily available in India. This study investigates the percentage substitution of jatropha methyl ester blends to diesel as fuel for automobiles and other industrial purposes. The study details the analysis of the performance and emission characteristics of the jatropha methyl esters and its comparison with petroleum diesel. The tests were carried out on a 3.7 KW single cylinder, direct injection and a water-cooled diesel engine. The fuels used were neat jatropha methyl ester, diesel and different blends of the methyl ester with diesel. The experimental result shows that 20% of the blend shows better performance with reduced pollution. The analysis shows that jatropha methyl ester blended biodiesel is a good substitute for pure diesel.

Key words: Jatropha methyl ester, water-cooled diesel engine, performance, emission characteristics