Utilisation of Cashew Seed Oil Methyl Ester in Compression Ignition Engines and its Engine Performance

Methyl ester, also called biodiesel, is an alternative fuel for diesel engine that is produced from renewable agricultural products. Biodiesel is an alkyl ester obtained from vegetable oils, waste cooking oils or animal fats via transesterification process. The three types of fuels used for the tests are pure biodiesel (BIOO), blended biodiesel (B20), which is a 20% mixture of biodiesel with 80% diesel fuel, and pure diesel fuel (100%) derived from crude petroleum. The characterised fuels were utilised in a compression ignition engine to determine their torque, power brake mean effective pressure and specific fuel consumption characteristics. From the test results obtained, the cashew seed oil methyl ester can be used in diesel engines as a substitute fuel. The results of this study were quite encouraging.