Sakshay BhatnagarJournal of Engineering Research and Application www.ijera.com ISSN : 2248-9622, Vol. 8, Issue 9 (Part –V ) Sep 2018, pp 23-35 www.ijera.com DOI: 10.9790/9622-0809052335 23 | Page Performance and Emission Analysis of a DI Diesel Engine Fueled with Blends of Ethanol and Methanol in Biodiesel-Diesel-EHN using EGR Sakshay Bhatnagar*, Dr. Murari Mohon Roy** *(Graduate Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, P7B5E1 ** (Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay. P7B5E1 Corresponding Author ; Sakshay Bhatnagar ABSTRACT This study investigates the performance (BTE and BSEC) and emissions (CO, HC, NOx and smoke) of biodiesel-diesel blends of B20, B50 and B100 mixed with methanol and ethanol at 5% and 10% v/v, and 1% 2- ethylhexyl nitrate (EHN). The blends were tested under two conditions (without EGR and with EGR), on a twin-cylinder HATZ 2G40 light-duty direct injection (DI) diesel engine at 3000 rpm at different load conditions (low load: 20%, medium load: 50%, and high load: 80%). Although methanol and ethanol helped reduce the biodiesel’s viscosity, increasing the amount of methanol and ethanol also decreased the biodiesel’s cetane number (CN). Therefore, to overcome this issue, the use of an additive EHN was used as a CN improver to reduce ignition delay and soot formation. The performance and emission results with blends of ethanol and methanol in biodiesel-diesel-EHN were compared to that of base fuels (B0, B20, B50 and B100). Keywords: 2-ethylhexyl nitrate, ethanol, exhaust gas recirculation, methanol, modern small diesel engine. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date Of Submission:25-08-2018 Date Of Acceptance: 08-09-2018 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. INTRODUCTION Diesel engines are the main choice of transportation, agriculture machinery, and mining equipment because of their higher thermal efficiency. Diesel engine manufacturers face a major challenge of improving the efficiency of engines without increasing the amount of pollutants that diesel engines contribute to the environment. In 2010, there were 700 million vehicles on the road including heavy-duty trucks, light-duty vehicles, automobiles, SUVs and light trucks, which will increase to 1.3 billion by 2030. This is an alarming indication of the fact that the level of air pollution will also increase due to the emission from these fuels, which has been the main concern. The increasing pollutants (i.e., HC, CO and NOx from diesel engines) are the major cause of environmental hazards such as ozone depletion, acidification and global warming. The above concerns have encouraged researchers to pursue alternative fuels to decrease environmental hazards from emissions, and to increase engine efficiency. The increasing concern of depleting fossil fuels and their effects on the environment have inspired biofuel research. Biofuels such as biodiesel, which has gained popularity in last few decades, is the future [1,2]. Various types of alcohol, such as ethanol, were also used as a direct engine fuel [3]. Biodiesel can be easily produced through different processes such as transesterification from different kinds of fats and vegetable oils. As reported, Canada permitted the use of 2% biodiesel-in-diesel fuel in 2012, with a further 5% increase in 2015. Furthermore, in terms of production, biodiesel production rose from 14.7 billion gallons to nearly 26 billion gallons from 2009 to 2015 [4]. The major concern that has haunted researchers is the rate at which fossil fuels are depleting. The US Energy Information Administration has estimated that the world’s fuel consumption will increase from 86.1 million barrels/day to 110.6 million barrels/day by 2035 [5,6]. Biodiesel can be used directly as engine fuel without any engine modifications. Pure biodiesel and biodiesel-diesel blends reduce the levels of HC, smoke density and CO, but at the cost of increasing NOx [7]. NOx is the major cause of smog, acid rain and ground level ozone [8]. Although biodiesel has higher viscosity, pour point, lower volatility and poor cold flow property, research has proven that including methanol and ethanol in diesel-biodiesel blends can improve the cold flow property and PM emissions. However, adding these two as additives lowers the CN of biodiesel, which further leads to ignition delay and delay in combustion, resulting in higher emissions [9]. A study was conducted by Orkun et al. on the RESEARCH ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS