Performance and Emission Characteristics of a Diesel Engine Operated with Wood Pyrolysis Oil

The vast stores of biomass available in the worldwide have the potential to displace significant amounts of fuels that are currently derived from petroleum sources. Fast pyrolysis of biomass is one of possible paths by which we can convert biomass to higher value products. The wood pyrolysis oil (WPO), also known as the bio crude oil (BCO), have been regarded as an alternative fuel for petroleum fuels to be used in diesel engine. However, the use of BCO in a diesel engine requires modifications due to low energy density, high water contents, low acidity, and high viscosity of the BCO. One of the easiest way to adopt BCO to diesel engine without modifications is emulsification of BCO with diesel and bio diesel. In this study, a diesel engine operated with diesel, bio diesel (BD), BCO/diesel, BCO/bio diesel emulsions was experimentally investigated. Performance and gaseous & particle emission characteristics of a diesel engine fuelled by BCO emulsions were examined. Results showed that stable engine operation was possible with emulsions and engine output power was comparable to diesel and bio diesel operation. However, in case of BCO/diesel emulsion operation, THC & CO emissions were increased due to the increased ignition delay and poor spray atomization and NOx & Soot were decreased due to the water and oxygen in the fuel. Long term validation of adopting BCO in diesel engine is still needed because the oil is acid, with consequent problems of corrosion and clogging especially in the injection system.