Niger seed oil biodiesel as an emulsifier in diesel–ethanol blends for compression ignition engine

International audienceIn this work, Niger seed oil biodiesel was tested as an emulsifier (10 and 20 (v/v%)) for diesel–ethanol (diesohol) (5–15 v/v%) blends at different percentage volumes. The blends of diesohol and Niger seed oil biodiesel were tested for their suitability in a single-cylinder diesel engine. The biodiesel was synthesised from Niger seed oil by transesterification process and fuel properties were found to be within the specified ASTMD6751 standards. The research was aimed to conduct a comparative performance study of the diesel engine operating on diesohol–biodiesel blends. The experimental results revealed that, with the increased ethanol and biodiesel fraction, all the blends showed improved performance and emission characteristics compared with biodiesel. Based on the outcome of this study Niger seed oil biodiesel and diesohol blends can be employed as a potential alternative fuel for the existing unmodified diesel engines owing to their improved emission and performance characteristics