Potentials of waste plastic pyrolysis oil as an extender fuel for diesel engine

Plastic waste is accumulating globally and its harmful environmental effects are on the rise. In order to reduce the challenges of waste management, the valorization of this heterogeneous plastic waste is of vital importance. The transformation of waste plastic for the production of alternative fuel is among the most promising pathway for its treatment. In this context, pyrolysis is an emerging trend, which can transform a wide variety of wastes into plastic oil. Due to the abundance and unlimited accessibility of the feedstock, higher heating value, the waste plastic pyrolyzed oil can be a potential extender fuel for CI engines. In the present study, an attempt has been made to improve the performance and emission characteristics of diesel-waste cooking oil (WCO) biodiesel blends by adding waste plastic pyrolyzed oil (WPPO). Different test fuels containing 10% and 20% by volume of waste plastic pyrolyzed oil, 20% by volume of waste cooking oil biodiesel, and 60%, 70%, and 80% by volume of diesel were prepared and labeled as D80B20, D70B20P10, and D60B20P20, respectively. To investigate the engine ignition characteristics of test fuels, ignition probability was calculated. Further, the performance and emission characteristics of test fuels were evaluated by conducting the engine trials at different loading conditions. A single-cylinder DI four-stroke diesel engine was used for the analysis, and the outcomes were compared with neat diesel (D100). The test fuel containing 20% vol. of WPPO (D60B20P20) showed up to 12.2% increase in brake thermal efficiency and up to 9.6% decrease in brake-specific energy consumption in comparison with diesel and biodiesel blends. The exhaust emissions were also decreased considerably as the percentage of WPPO in fuel blend is increased. At full load, an overall reduction of about 30% in NOx, CO, and UBHC emissions was observed for D60B20P20 in comparison with neat diesel.