Experimental Investigation on Diesel Engine Using Fish oil Biodiesel and its Diesel Blends

Bio-diesel, which can be used as an alternative diesel fuel, is made from renewable biological sources such as vegetable oil and animal fats. It is biodegradable, non-toxic and possesses low emission profiles. Also, the uses of bio-fuels are environmentally beneficial. The objective of this work was to use fish oil biodiesel as a substitute for diesel in compression ignition engine. Fish oil was transesterified to produce biodiesel. The properties of the biodiesel were determined using standard methods. The experiments were carried out to investigate the performance, combustion and emission characteristics of fish oil biodiesel and its blends with diesel in varying proportions. A single cylinder, water cooled, four stroke diesel engine was used for this work. Experiments were conducted when the engine was fuelled with fish oil biodiesel and its blends with diesel in proportions of 20:80, 40:60, 60:40 and 100% (by volume), which are generally called as B-20, B-40, B-60 and B-100 respectively. Results indicated that fish oil biodiesel and its diesel blends are suitable substitute for diesel as they produce lesser emissions than diesel and have satisfactory combustion and performance characteristics.