Engine performance and emission characteristics of palm biodiesel blends with graphene oxide nanoplatelets and dimethyl carbonate additives

L Razzaq; M A Mujtaba; Manzoore Elahi M Soudagar; Waqar Ahmed; H Fayaz; Shahid Bashir; I M Rizwanul Fattah; Hwai Chyuan Ong; Kiran Shahapurkar; Asif Afzal; S Wageh; Ahmed Al-Ghamdi; Muhammad Shujaat Ali; Ahmed I El-Seesy

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111917

Engine performance and emission characteristics of palm biodiesel blends with graphene oxide nanoplatelets and dimethyl carbonate additives

J Environ Manage. 2021 Mar 15:282:111917. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111917. Epub 2021 Jan 13.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, New Campus Lahore, Pakistan.
² Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, New Campus Lahore, Pakistan. Electronic address: m.mujtaba@uet.edu.pk.
³ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia.
⁴ Modeling Evolutionary Algorithms Simulation and Artificial Intelligence, Faculty of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.
⁵ Department of Physics, Center of Ionics, Faculty of Science University of Malaya Malaysia, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia.
⁶ School of Information, Systems and Modelling, Faculty of Engineering and IT, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, 2007, Australia. Electronic address: IslamMdRizwanul.Fattah@uts.edu.au.
⁷ School of Information, Systems and Modelling, Faculty of Engineering and IT, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, 2007, Australia. Electronic address: HwaiChyuan.Ong@uts.edu.au.
⁸ Department of Mechanical Design and Manufacturing Engineering, School of Mechanical, Chemical and Materials Engineering, Adama Science and Technology University, Adama, 1888, Ethiopia.
⁹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, P.A. College of Engineering (Affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi), Mangaluru, 574153, India.
¹⁰ Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia; Physics and Engineering Mathematics Department, Faculty of Electronic Engineering, Menoufia University, Menoufia, 32952, Egypt.
¹¹ Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia.
¹² Benha Faculty of Engineering, Benha University, 13512, Benha, Qalubia, Egypt.

PMID: 33453625
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111917

Abstract

This study investigated the engine performance and emission characteristics of biodiesel blends with combined Graphene oxide nanoplatelets (GNPs) and 10% v/v dimethyl carbonate (DMC) as fuel additives as well as analysed the tribological characteristics of those blends. 10% by volume DMC was mixed with 30% palm oil biodiesel blends with diesel. Three different concentrations (40, 80 and 120 ppm) of GNPs were added to these blends via the ultrasonication process to prepare the nanofuels. Sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) surfactant was added to improve the stability of these blends. GNPs were characterised using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), while the viscosity of nanofuels was investigated by rheometer. UV-spectrometry was used to determine the stability of these nanoplatelets. A ratio of 1:4 GNP: SDS was found to produce maximum stability in biodiesel. Performance and emissions characteristics of these nanofuels have been investigated in a four-stroke compression ignition engine. The maximum reduction in BSFC of 5.05% and the maximum BTE of 22.80% was for B30GNP40DMC10 compared to all other tested blends. A reduction in HC (25%) and CO (4.41%) were observed for B30DMC10, while a reduction in NO_x of 3.65% was observed for B30GNP40DMC10. The diesel-biodiesel fuel blends with the addition of GNP exhibited a promising reduction in the average coefficient of friction 15.05%, 8.68% and 3.61% for 120, 80 and 40 ppm concentrations compared to B30. Thus, combined GNP and DMC showed excellent potential for utilisation in diesel engine operation.

Keywords: Dimethyl carbonate; Engine emissions; Engine performance; Graphene oxide nanoplatelets; Palm biodiesel; Tribological characteristics.

MeSH terms

Biofuels*
Carbon Monoxide / analysis
Formates
Gasoline
Graphite
Vehicle Emissions*

Substances

Biofuels
Formates
Gasoline
Vehicle Emissions
graphene oxide
Graphite
Carbon Monoxide
methyl carbonate