Performance and Emission of Small Diesel Engine Using Diesel-Crude Palm Oil-Water Emulsion as Fuel

Diesel and crude palm oil (CPO) emulsion was drop-in replaced of diesel oil in a small diesel engine to test the engine performance and emission. In the study, the compositions of diesel/CPO/water of 95/0/5, 90/0/10, 90/5/5, 85/5/10, 85/10/5 and 80/10/10 by volume were used in a four-stroke single cylinder diesel engine having a pre-combustion chamber. The engine speed was in a range of 1000 – 2000 rpm. From the results, it could be found that the torque and the engine power for the emulsion of 90/5/5 were close to those of from the diesel oil and the performance were poorer when the percentages of CPO and water were increased. The specific fuel consumption of the emulsified oil with the composition of 90/5/5 was quite close to that of the diesel oil at low engine speed and higher consumption was needed with higher amount of CPO and water in the emulsion due to lower heating value in the emulsion. The emissions in terms of CO, NOx and black smoke for the emulsified oil could be reduced significantly. After 200h of the operation, the wear and the physical corrosions in the engine components for the emulsified fuel of 90/5/5 composition are not much different from those for the diesel oil. Key words: Palm –diesel emulsion; Diesel engine performance; Emission