The Influence of Butanol-Acetone (BA) Mixture on Spray and Performance Characteristics of Castor and Pongamia Biodiesel

Butanol-Acetone (BA) mixture is an oxygenated additive which is produced as a natural byproduct of fermentation process. It is also considered as a green fuel and is much cheaper in contrast to butanol. The effect of BA additive in biodiesel based ternary blends is still unknown. Hence in this research we have used BA as an oxygenated additive in Castor and Pongamia biodiesel. The biodiesel was produced through transesterification. Four ternary and two binary blends were produced by blending biodiesel with BA mixture. Spray was analyzed in a control volume spray chamber (CVSC) while the performance was evaluated in single cylinder diesel engine at 3600 RPM for 4 different loads. Atomization quality improved with the upsurge in BA concentration due to wider spray cone angle and higher gas entrainment. PB20BA20 showed the most similar spray behavior in contrast to diesel. Performance analysis revealed enhanced break thermal efficiency (BTE) with BA addition, with CB20BA20, PB20BA10 and PB20BA20 showing an increase of 1.87