Performance and Noise of Dual Fuel Engine Running on Cottonseed, Soybean Raw Oils and Their Methyl Esters as Pilot Fuels

The cottonseed oil, soybean oil and their methyl esters have been used as a pilot fuels for dual fuel engine running on the LPG as the main fuel. A variable compression research diesel engine has been converted to run on dual fuel of LPG and a pilot fuel derived from the renewable liquid fuels above. The engine has been instrumented to measure the combustion pressure, crank angles, exhaust temperature, flow rates of air, pilot fuel and gaseous fuel. The effects of changing the following parameters have been studied: The mass of pilot fuel, the mass of gaseous fuel, the pilot fuel injection timing, engine speed and the pilot fuel type. Five different pilot fuels has been tested here namely the cottonseed raw oil, the cottonseed methyl ester, the soybean raw oil, the soybean methyl ester and the diesel fuel as a reference fuel. The results presented included the combustion noise (as maximum pressure rise rate), the heat release rate, the maximum combustion pressure, the exhaust temperature, the brake and indicated mean effective pressures. It has been found that the renewable pilot fuel properties affected the combustion process and the combustion noise. The best fuel in terms of highest output and minimum noise has been put forward.